Roommates Since 2 AM
by FangirlingMeerkat
Summary: This is a continuation of my other story "New Roommates at 2 AM". It doesn't follow our characters on a day-to-day basis, but rather tells the story of the many adventures and mishaps of everyone's favourite historical dorks. I would suggest reading my first one before this, but the choice is yours. Big thanks to Kittenanimegirl13 who gave me the idea to do this :)
1. Karaoke night

**Karaoke night**

* * *

John and Alexander were sat on the sofa, watching a nature documentary when Lafayette threw the front door wide open.  
"Quit the snogging and look at this!" he exclaimed proudly, practically jumping across the living room.  
John and Alexander both blushed furiously, but Lafayette thankfully didn't seem to notice. The two weren't officially together, yet. The French boy was totally oblivious to what his comment had caused though, and simply threw a packet onto John's lap. Printed across the box in bright pink letters was "Singstar".  
"It's karaoke time, peoples!" Lafayette laughed. Without waiting for their response he ran across the living room to Hercules' room, and barged in through his door.  
The two boys on the couch shared a questioning look, but didn't say anything. This was Lafayette after all.

After a while of muffled arguing Lafayette emerged with Hercules behind him, the former grinning widely and the latter looking extremely annoyed.  
"I have work to do," Hercules grumbled. He looked over at the couch as if hoping John or Alexander would help him escape from Lafayette.  
"You've spent _hours_ on that design project, ami"  
"It's true man," John added. "Take a break"  
Defeated, Hercules threw his hands in the air and walked over to the sofa.

It took them a while to figure out how to install the game, but after a bit of help from Alexander - the only one who actually read the manual - they finally managed it. Lafayette triumphantly held up two connected microphones before turning to the others.  
"Rules are easy, you sing when there's text on the screen and the one with highest points win. Loser does the dishes tomorrow!"  
His statement was met with groans of protest from the others, but no one argued.

"I vote for John to go first," Hercules said while flipping through the available songs. He stopped at the cheesiest love song of them all.  
"Hey look, this one's perfect"  
The others laughed, while John blushed and gave them a look that could've killed a man.  
"I am not singing!"  
"Aw come on Turtle-Boy"  
"No, I suck at it!"  
"Pleease John," Alexander looked at him with his best puppy eyes. "I'll be player two if you do!"  
Unable to say no to that, John took the mic from Lafayette - though admittedly while muttering about how much he hated all of them.

He actually wasn't a bad singer, and ended up beating Alexander with twenty points. Alex punched him on the arm, but still laughed. John grinned at him in return and flicked his nose before grabbing the remote to choose a song for Hercules and Lafayette. Clearly set on revenge, he picked the hardest one.  
"Damn you, Laurens," Hercules muttered.  
Lafayette just stared intensely at the screen.

Poor Hercules didn't stand a chance. He got through his parts well enough, only stumbling a little on the fastest raps. But Lafayette was a force of nature. He nailed every single bar, and didn't even blink as he scored perfect after perfect. John and Alexander could do nothing but watch in stunned silence.

Once the song ended - and Lafayette had dropped his mic on the floor - Laf turned to Hercules with a grin.  
"Better luck next time, mon cher!"  
Hercules flipped him off in response.

As the night progressed the karaoke got less serious. They ended up choosing the silliest songs they could find, and basically yelled out the lyrics. None of them bothered to check the time, and they might have continued until dawn, if it weren't for their neighbours. Following a particularly intense rap battle between Alexander and Lafayette there was a shout from someone with a heavy southern accent.  
"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Once they had regained their ability to breath and made sure Lafayette wasn't choking on laughter the boys decided it was time to call it a night.

* * *

Hello person! I hope you enjoyed this. I plan on doing a couple of these one shots/shorter stories, as an addition to my story "New roommates at 2 am". (If you haven't read that I suggest you do, as most things here propably won't make sense otherwise but hey, you do you). Updates will propably be a bit irregular as I have a lot of tests and homework coming up, but I hope I'll be able to post somewhat often. If you have any comments or critisism, please tell me, I appreciate it a lot. Take care people!


	2. George Shellton

**George Shellton**

* * *

Alexander's heart was in his throat as he slowly opened the front door to his dorm. He clutched the packet he was holding tightly in an attempt to stop his hands from shaking. The gift had seemed so perfect when he'd bought it, but now he was starting to doubt it. In hope of reassuring himself that the present was a good idea he thought back on the memory that had caused him to immediately purchase it when he saw it in the store.

Alexander and John had been sat on John's bed, "studying". In reality they'd just been talking with their textbooks open next to them, but Alexander figured it was basically the same thing. At some point in the conversation Alexander had asked John about all the turtle pictures covering his walls.  
"They are really awesome animals!" John had said excitedly, his eyes practically gleaming. Unable to stop himself he'd started a ten minute speech about turtles, while Alexander had just sat there, enjoying the way John's face lit up when he talked about his favourite reptile.  
"Did you have turtles before you came here?" Alexander had asked once John had stopped talking.  
"Yeah, two actually. Their names are Adam and Maria, do you wanna see them?"  
After Alexander had nodded vigorously John had pulled out his phone and proceeded to show Alex a video of him holding his two turtles.  
"That's Adam," John had said, pointing at the screen. "And that's Maria."  
"They're really cute!"  
"I know right? It's a shame we can't bring pets here, I had to leave them at home."  
"Aww, that sucks," Alexander had said. Then he'd playfully shoved John on the shoulder before saying, "So Maria's your girlfriend then, huh?  
"Shut up!" John blushed.  
"Just kidding." Alexander had taken a deep breath before nonchalantly asking, "Do you have anyone else, then?"  
"What, someones who's not a turtle?" John had laughed. "But no, I don't." Alexander had nodded, trying not to show how fast that made his heart beat. Especially not when John had mumbled "Yet", almost too soft for Alexander to hear.

The memory calmed Alexander a little. After all, when he'd seen the giant stuffed turtle in the store it had seemed like a brilliant idea. And besides, today was a special day.

Alexander slowly walked up to John's room. He stopped right outside of it, carefully straightening the lime green bow on top of the wrapped present. He swallowed hard and knocked on John's door.  
"Come in!"  
Alexander pushed the door open, hiding the packet behind his back as he walked inside.  
"Hi Alex," John looked up from his writing desk.  
"Hi John," Alexander walked up to him. "What are you drawing?" He looked at the paper in front of John, where a vague human outline was sketched.  
"Oh, um nothing!" John's cheeks turned slightly pink and he tried to cover the page with his hand, which was pretty strange as he usually didn't mind people seeing his drawings.  
"Yeah sure, I can clearly see that there is nothing in front of you," Alex said sarcastically.  
"Oh shut it, Hamilton. Ay, what's that you're holding?"  
It was Alexander's turn to blush, and he looked away as he removed the packet from behind his back.  
"It's for you," he mumbled as he handed John the gift.  
"Wow, thanks! But.. what for?"  
"Um," Alexander stammered, increasingly convinced that this had been a terrible idea. "Well we kinda have this tradition where I come from, it's called– eh, the translation would be "Name day". It's like every name is given a day and when it's the day for your name it's like a mini-birthday. So you give gifts and stuff when it's someone's "Name day". So yeah, it's John today. It probably sounds really dumb, sorry." He looked down at his feet, avoiding John's eyes.  
"What no! It sounds awesome! Two birthdays? Sweet!" John grinned happily. "Can I open it?"  
"Of course!" Alexander grinned back at him, incredibly relieved that John hadn't found the tradition ridiculous.  
John excitedly tore the paper away, revealing the gigantic turtle.  
"Oh. My. God."  
"Do you like it?"  
"I. Love. It," John lifted the turtle up in the air and laughed. "I shall name him George Shellton!"  
Alexander couldn't help but giggle at John's enthusiasm. Damn, he looked cute cuddling the turtle.  
"Glad you liked it," he said.  
"Thank you so much!"

Perhaps John was just too happy to think about what he was doing, or perhaps he was caught in the heat of the moment, but he threw his arms around Alexander and pulled him into a tight hug. With his heart somersaulting in his chest Alexander hugged him back just as tightly.  
"You're the best Alex!"

* * *

So I finally got this up! I apologise for the time it took, I have a lot going on with school right now so I can't write as often as I want to, but I promise I'm trying my best!. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long though. On an unrelated note I hope the description of "Name day" was understandable. It's a tradition where I come from and according to google it's celebrated in the Caribbean as well, so I think Alexander would be familiar with it. But if I got it wrong and it's not a thing there at all, I apologise. Again, thanks for reading, and send me a message if you'd like to. Take care!


	3. Prank 'n cheese

**Prank 'n cheese**

* * *

"I might actually have to kill them," Hercules growled.  
"Agreed," Alexander responded through clenched teeth.  
They were sat in the living room, desperately trying to enjoy dinner with John and Lafayette. Trying, because of the insanely loud country music blasting from the neighbouring dorm.  
"We've gotta do something," John half-yelled. "My head is pounding!"  
"I'm with you ami, but what?" Lafayette yelled back.  
John started to shrug his shoulders, but then seemed to realize something.  
"Hey you've got class with one of them haven't you Alex? The Thomas Jefferson guy. Know anything 'bout him?"  
"Annoying little shit," Alexander said, practically fuming with anger. "He debated me for an hour yesterday, and he didn't even have proper arguments!It was all: "Well in the South this and in the South that." And he wears this damn coat too, like he's some sort of emperor."  
"Wow," Hercules muttered.  
Something about what Alexander said had caught Lafayette's attention though, and the boy looked at Alexander with new interest.  
"Purple-coat guy? The one who carried that box when moving in?"  
Alexander nodded, still looking as if he might go on a murder spree.  
"I think I saw him at the store yesterday," Laf continued. "I swear he bought like thirty boxes of that mac 'n cheese stuff."  
"Really?" John chimed in, his eyes glinting mischievously .  
"Yup"  
"So you'd say he really, really likes macaroni?"  
"Probably"  
John grinned. "What would you say about a little prank?"

Their dorm was bustling with activity not much later as they set about to prepare. John and Alexander went off to design some posters while the other two went to work in the kitchen. All of them had immediately approved of John's prank, desperate to get revenge on their neighbours. Was their plan a bit extreme? Sure, but the people next door just didn't seem to have _any_ concept of what is considered acceptable music volume. So as soon as everything ready the four marched out of their dorm, accompanied by the steady beat of southern country music.

John and Alex stayed in the corridor while Lafayette and Hercules went downstairs to set up the final things. Once they were sure enough time had passed Alex silently handed the posters they'd printed out to John, who gave them one last check before sliding them under their neighbour's door. Even from where he stood at the other side of the hallway Alexander could clearly read the bold letters that exclaimed: "Free mac 'n cheese!"  
He just hoped that the music blasting idiots could actually read.

"Your plan is truely ingenious," Alexander whispered when John joined him at the end of the corridor.  
"Why, thank you," John whispered back. "Let's just hope it works."  
"It will," Alexander assured him as they walked downstairs to join the others.

They had chosen the study room where they'd drunk hot chocolate for the actual prank, but when they got there Hercules and Lafayette were nowhere to be found. After scanning the place for any sign of their friends Alexander and John looked at each other in confusion.  
"Herc? Laf?" Alexander called softly, unsure of what to do.  
"Over here!" Hercules' head popped up from behind an armchair and he waved at them.  
"Hurry!"

They'd picked the perfect hiding spot. From where he and John was crouching Alexander had a clear view of the three bowls of macaroni placed next to the hot cocoa machine, but he himself was invisible. The food looked perfectly inviting, and the smell that drifted from the bowls almost made Alexander's mouth water. How Lafayetted had managed to disguise the two cans of cayenne pepper inside of it he had no idea.

Not even five minutes had passed before there was a delighted scream from upstairs.  
"James, Aaron! Look!"  
The shout was followed by a loud groan and the sound of someone sprinting down the stairs. The four looked at each other, grinning. John excitedly gripped Alexander's arm, his face practically sparkling.  
"This should be fun," Lafayette mumbled.

The boy from Alex's class came barging into the room, still dressed in his purple coat. Following him was a shorter boy wearing a grey hoodie and an exasperated expression.  
"James see, I told you it wasn't a joke!" The first guy exclaimed loudly, pointing towards the macaroni.  
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say Thomas," the one who must've been James answered. "But are you sure– Oh for God's sake!" He shook his head as the other boy dumped almost an entire bowl of mac and cheese on a paper plate.  
"This is the best day of my life!" Thomas laughed as he handed his friend another, equally full plate. Behind the armchairs Lafayette stifled a laugh.  
"Dig in!" Purple-coat continued. With an expression of pure bliss he took a gigantic spoonful of macaroni.

All hell broke loose.

"What the hell!" Thomas screamed, his eyes watering.  
James' eyes widened a fraction of an inch before he ran for the trash can by the sink, frantically spitting out the food. Following James' example Thomas dropped his plate on the floor and bolted to the sink, oblivious to the choked laughter emerging from an unsuspicious group of armchairs. With his tongue hanging out of his mouth he skidded to a stop in front of the sink and desperately flicked the tap on at maximum force.  
And got blasted in the face by a projectile of water.

Hercules and Lafayette exploded with laughter. Thomas whipped around at the sound, water spraying everywhere, and finally spotted them.  
"Run!" John shouted, almost unable to get the words out because of how hard he was laughing. Hercules and Lafayette took off, a roll of tape falling out of Hercules pocket. Not wasting a second John grabbed Alexander's hand and sprinted after their friends.  
"I will KILL you!" Thomas screamed.  
"We thought you liked macaroni!" John yelled back as they reached the top of the stairs.  
He gracefully ducked under the roll of tape that came flying towards his head and pulled Alexander with him into the safety of their dorm.

* * *

Hello again! I'm back with more dorkiness from everyone's favorite historical people. I hope you enjoyed this one, I had a lot of fun writing it. If you feel like it, please send me a message. It really makes me smile and I'm so thankful for all the support I've gotten. Take care!

Ps, if you were wondering (which you probably weren't) about who had to clean up after this mess I imagine poor Burr having to do it since he doesn't want them getting in trouble with the college authorities, all while Madison is trying to comfort a sulking Jefferson.


	4. A moment alone in the shade

**A moment alone in the shade**

* * *

Lafayette dramatically draped himself over the sofa, fanning himself with a newspaper.  
"It's too hot in here," he complained.  
His statement was met with a grunt of agreement from Alexander and a "Hot damn" from Hercules. John didn't say anything, he just extended an arm from where he was sprawled on the floor and snatched the paper from Lafayette.  
"Hey!" Lafayette swung for his improvised fan, and missed.  
"Mine now," John said with a lazy smile as he fanned himself. "Besides, you're not wearing a shirt, and I am, so I need it more."  
It was true, Lafayette was dressed in only a pair of shorts. Not that it was a rare occurrence, the guy really didn't seem to like shirts. Alexander was happy that he'd gotten over the initial… shock about having a really ripped guy walking around shirtless every day, but truthfully he rarely noticed it anymore. Rarely.  
"Well it's still like, 500 degrees out!" Lafayette retorted. He snatched the newspaper-turned-fan back from John, who let out a displeased sound.  
"Nah it's only 95 degrees," Alexander joked.  
He was trying really hard to not laugh at John's face. The boy looked at Lafayette like he'd just stolen his life's most prized possession. Perhaps the newspaper continued an article about turtles.

"Why don't we grab some ice cream?" Hercules suddenly asked.  
The room fell absolutely silent for about three seconds. Then John jumped up from the floor and cheered loudly.  
"Ice cream it is!" Lafayette said.  
"Sure," Hercules replied drily, "But maybe you should get dressed first." He looked meaningly towards Lafayette's torso. "As far as I know you can't buy ice cream at any stripclubs."  
Lafayette slowly stretched his arms above is head, which was totally not to show off, before he said:  
"I guess that's fair. The world just isn't ready for my magnificent abs."  
Hercules snorted loudly and John and Alex both launched into a sudden cough attack.

Eventually they got to the ice cream store, which as Hercules had predicted indeed wasn't a strip club. Once they'd all ordered they found a nice shady spot under a huge tree and sat down.  
"Really, Laf? That's like, sprinkles with ice cream!" John laughed as he settled down next to Alexander.  
"Tais-toi!" Lafayette shot back, barely audible over the huge bite of sprinkle-covered ice cream he'd just taken.  
"That is almost impressive," Alexander offered, his tone genuinely amazed. "That's gotta be more than a thousand sprinkles."  
Lafayette stuck out his tongue at them.  
"Your tongue is covered in sprinkles," John observed.  
"Well your tongue is _green_ , Laurens," Hercules said.  
John blushed and grabbed a napkin which he furiously wiped his tongue on.  
"Precisely, mon cher, so don't call me out," Lafayette smirked. "And what kind of flavour is _clover_ anyways? That's a plant!"  
"It's a good one," John muttered.  
His face basically matched Hercules' raspberry ice cream, which Alexander thought was kinda adorable. Okay, really adorable.

Lafayette and Hercules had to leave not long after, since both of them had "Urgent business to attend to" as Lafayette so elegantly put it. In reality Laf had to visit som French relatives that were on holiday in New York, and Hercules had some fashion design thing. They said goodbye to John and Alexander and left them alone under the tree, the latter two perfectly happy to not have to leave the cooling shade. As they watched the others leave John leaned back against the tree trunk, causing his shoulder to rest against Alexander. They sat like that in silence for a while, and Alex had just calmed his racing heart when it almost stopped dead in his chest.

"AHHHH!" John screamed and suddently jumped up, causing Alexander to flinch and almost drop the remnant of his mango ice cream.  
"Are you okay?"  
John gulped visibly, and nodded.  
"It's just, um, I don't really… like ants." Color bloomed on his cheeks as he pointed towards the ground where a tiny black creature roamed around.  
"Oh," Alexander said, happy that it wasn't anything worse, like a surprise ninja attack. "Do you want to leave?" he then asked John, who looked as if the ant was wielding a shotgun.  
"Eh, sure," John said, looking both embarrassed and relieved. But then he brightened.  
"Have you been to the lake?"  
Alexander shook his head.  
"Sweet, I'll show you!"

They walked along a path that John claimed led to the lake, licking their ice creams as they went. Though slurping might have been a more appropriate word, as what had previously been a fairly solid substance had now turned into a sticky mess that dripped everywhere. After a short while Alexander gave up completely and threw his soggy cone into a nearby bush. John was more stubborn and actually managed to finish his without getting it all over himself. Alexander might've congratulated him on this feat, if it wasn't for the fact that their hands kept brushing each other as they walked, which already made it very hard for him to focus on their current conversation.  
"Did you see that bird?" John said and pointed towards the side of the path.  
"Yep," Alexander answered. He looked over at the bird, who chose that exact moment to puff up the feathers on its head.  
"Hey, it looks just like you!" Alexander teased, and ruffled John's hair for emphasis.  
"Shut up!" John batted away Alex's hand, though as he did so their fingers somehow got all tangled together. Alexander blushed, and so did John.  
Neither of them let go.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Alexander thoroughly enjoying how warm John's hand was and trying to ignore the fact that it felt like his heart was trying to escape from his body. He'd almost forgotten that there was an aim to their walking when John suddenly stopped.  
"Here it is," he said.  
Before them lay a stretch of water, sparkling in the sun.  
"I know it's more of a dam than a lake but… yeah," John continued, stumbling slightly on the words.  
"It's beautiful," Alexander said. He looked towards John, who started laughing.  
"You've got ice cream on your nose Alex" he smiled.  
"Oh crap." Alexander used his free hand to wipe it away, cursing himself for not even being able to eat ice cream normally.  
"I guess it must've been a great ice cream if you tried to eat it with your nose too, "John teased.  
Alexander tried to give him his best death-glare, but he probably didn't succeed as John only grinned wider.  
"At least it was an actually flavour and not some irish luck-plant!" Alex defended himself.  
"Hey, clover's delicious!" John retorted, releasing Alexander's hand to cross his arms defensively.  
"Mango is way better!"  
"It's not."  
"Prove it," Alexander challenged. John eyes twinkled, and Alex immediately felt very, very nervous. John smirked slightly, and his cheeks flushed pink as he said  
"Sure".  
And kissed Alexander.

Alexander's heart exploded. John's curls brushed his face and without thinking about it Alexander raised his hands and entwined them in John's hair. The other boy's lips were incredibly soft against his own and tasted of summer and freshly cut grass. His whole body felt like it was aflame as John reached up and cupped his hands around his neck. A small sound escaped from Alexander as his lips parted slightly and the kiss deepened. He could hardly breath, but he didn't care. He was kissing John. The boy with the adorable freckles and brilliant smile, who was now pulling Alex closer towards him and _kissing_ him. And kissed him again and again and again.

Alexander was almost dizzy when the finally pulled away from each other. He could still feel John's mouth on his own which made it really _really_ hard for him to think. Somehow he managed to compose himself enough to look towards John, who was wide-eyed and blushing harder than Alexander had ever seen him do before. He looked as though he couldn't quite believe what had just happened.  
Alexander grinned at him.  
"I guess you were right, Laurens. Clover is delicious."  
John grinned back at him, happiness practically radiating off him.  
"Told you so!"

* * *

I'm back again! Sorry that this took so long to write, I don't want to make any excuses but I've been pretty busy and I didn't want to write something half-assed just to get it up quickly. Anyways I hope you liked this one, I know that I really enjoyed writing it so I hope it leaves you *satisfied* too (sorry, I can't resist the puns). As I always say please, please send me a message or leave a review if you feel like it, I appreciate it a lot. Take care!  
Ps. I had some trouble with getting the last chapter to post so I hope this one will work beter, but I apologize if it doesn't.


	5. Technology assignment

**Technology assignment**

* * *

The four boys all looked expectantly at the tiny car. Hercules reached down and adjusted it so that it pointed straight down the racing course they'd built for it.  
"Everything is done?" Alexander asked.  
"Yup," John answered. He grabbed Alexander's hand as if they were about to witness something truly spectacular and turned his full attention towards the racing course.  
"Oh get a room," Hercules muttered, Lafayette nodding his agreement.  
Alexander made a face at them.  
Lafayette returned the expression before finally flipping the small switch on the car that would start it's motor. If all went well.

It had taken them hours to complete the science assignment. Their task had been simple, build a car that can maneuver a racing course and write a report about it. How the four of them had been allowed to be in a group together Alexander had no idea, but perhaps their teacher just didn't care. So now they sat on the floor of their living room, heart's racing as the small car hummed to life. They had put all of their brains into its making and it was _not_ going to fail.

Their project had started with Alexander pulling up Wikipedia articles about batteries, motion sensors and car models. The others had watched him, John and Hercules claiming to be "moral support" and Lafayette claiming that the text made his eyes hurt. But somehow they did find enough information for Hercules to design a plan for a car that was also scientifically possible. They'd then spent a good hour and a half on trying to construct the thing, only stopping when Hercules decided that they needed to have dinner.  
They'd continued the next day, with John being assigned the task of building the more detailed parts of the vehicle. Out of the four he was without a doubt the one with the best motor skills, though to be fair the competition wasn't that though.

It was during that part of the building process that Hercules and Lafayette had walked into John's room to see if he needed any help. And found him and Alex kissing.  
The two had immediately sprung apart, furiously blushing.  
"Um," was the articulate sound John had explained the situation with.  
"I thought you were working on our science project, Laurens," Lafayette had smirked. "I wasn't aware that it was a biology assignment."  
Hercules had snorted, but John and Alexander had just looked at each other in slight panic.  
"Eh, I guess we should, er–" Alexander had begun.  
"Yeah, we just kinda," John had stuttered. "Um we didn't," he'd looked to Alexander for help.  
"John and I are dating," the other boy had blurted.  
Lafayette had quirked an eyebrow at them and looked at Hercules.  
"I think, Laf, that this is where we sound surprised," Hercules had said.  
"I would think so," Lafayette'd responded.  
"You… knew?" John had asked in utter shock.  
"Oh please," Hercules had said, rolling his eyes.  
"Ami, you two have been drooling at each other since you first met," Lafayette'd laughed.  
"And since you look done with this," Hercules had continued, grinning as he'd picked up the cardboard box with wheels that was their project, "Laf and I can decorate it."  
"Don't let us interfere with your… business!" Lafayette had called to them with a wink as he and Herc left the room, leaving behind a very confused John and an even more confused Alexander.

The memory still made Alexander blush.

He focused his attention back on their car, which had started moving. It was spectacularly decorated, painted in blue, red, and white stripes and covered in star shaped glitters. The four boys cheered as it picked up speed, raced flawlessly along the course, came up to it's first turn and… crashed.  
"What the hell?" Hercules said.  
"Wasn't it supposed to turn?" Lafayette added.  
"It was," Alexander said as he picked up the car and examined it. "No idea why it didn't."  
"Maybe there is something wrong with the racing course?" John suggested.  
"The course is fine!" Lafayette said, sounding highly offended. "I built it with my own two hands!"  
"Well there's the problem then," Herc muttered under his breath.  
Lafayette glared at him.

The four did everything the could think of, changing basically every part of the car. Nothing worked. The car ran flawlessly until there was a turn but then it would immediately crash into the wall. Frustrated, Alexander ran his hands through his hair. It was past midnight and he was _so_ done with this project.  
"Guys…" called John's tentative voice.  
He was the one holding the car, carefully examining the front of it.  
"What is it?" Alexander asked as he walked over to John to look at the car.  
"Is this piece of tape supposed to be here?" John said.  
Alexander peered over his shoulder at the car, and slapped himself in the face.  
"We're SO stupid!"  
"What is it, mon ami," Lafayette said. He, too, looked at the car before realisation struck him.  
"Is that the sensor thing?"  
"Yes." John answered.  
"Wow," Hercules said.

They removed the tape covering the sensor that was supposed to detect obstacles so that the car could actually turn, and once again placed the car on the starting line. It began to roll and approached the first turn in the course. They all held their breaths. The wall came closer and closer, only centimeters away from the car. It was going to crash and… the car made the turn.  
"Whooooo!"  
They all exploded into cheers, practically bouncing as the car made it's way around the course. It finally took the last turn and broke the ribbon Laf had tied at the finishing line.  
"We made it!" John laughed.  
"Indeed," Hercules laughed back.  
Lafayette raised his hand for a high five, which the other three enthusiastically gave him.  
"We got the job done," Laf called cheerfully.

"Well _congratulations_ idiots." Someone with a familiar southern accent called through their wall. "But would you kindly STOP SCREAMING AT ONE IN THE FUCKING NIGHT?"  
"Nope!" Alexander yelled back.

* * *

Hi guys! I hope you liked this chapter, I dedicate it to my science teacher and this horrible technology assignment I have to turn in in two days. I end school pretty soon, but it means that I have a lot of assignments and stuff coming up, so I probably won't post here quite as much. I'm really sorry about that and I promise that I will still write but it might go a bit longer in between chapters. I hope you still like to read this though, and if you do please tell me. Take care!


	6. True fashion

**True fashion**

* * *

"Laf, will you hand me a thread?" Hercules asked.  
"Sure." Lafayette picked one up and tossed it to Hercules. "Here you go."  
The other boy caught it and reached for a needle to thread it through when he suddenly stopped himself.  
"This is _embroidery yarn_ you buffoon!"  
Lafayette glared at him.  
"Wow, sorry Mr Tailor, not all of us are versed in the art of threads," he grumbled, though his eyes twinkled. "Would this one better suit you tastes then?" he said as he rolled another spool of thread across the floor.  
"Yeah." Hercules expertedly threaded his needle and set to sewing.

"I still can't believe we're doing this," Lafayette laughed as he watched his friend work.  
"Hey, I need to try out this design!" Hercules laughed back. He finished off the button he was securing and held up his work. It was an impeccable white shirt, designed to fit perfectly on John's stuffed turtle.  
Lafayette snorted. "It looks great, ami."  
"I know, right?" Hercules responded and started taking the turtle's measurements. "He just needs a suit too."  
"George Shellton will be the best dressed turtle in history," Laf mused.  
Hercules nodded absentmindedly, his attention on the piece of black cloth he was cutting. Lafayette scoffed at his lacking response and instead resorted to scanning the drawings scattered across the floor.  
"So you're making a shirt and a suit?" he asked.  
"Yup."  
Lafayette's dark eyes glittered. "You know what is missing? A tie." He picked up a scrap piece of red cloth and twirled it around his fingers. "I'll make the tie."  
For about five seconds Hercules stared wordlessly at him. The he started laughing.  
"Okay, sure. Go for it," he chuckled.

It all went along fairly smoothly, Hercules sewing the suit and Lafayette, well, _creating_ the tie.  
"Can you pass me a needle, Herc?"  
"Sure, what kind?" Hercules replied.  
"The kind that sews!"  
Hercules rolled his eyes and threw a pin cushion at his friend, who caught it mid air. Lafayette picked a needle and reached for his tie. He hadn't even sewn three stitches before he screamed loudly.  
"It stuck me!" Lafayette complained.  
"Well yeah, needles tend to do that," Hercules said, sighing deeply. "Here, let me see."  
He took the other boy's hand and examined it closely. A tiny blood drop had formed on Laf's pointer finger.  
"It looks terrible," Hercules concluded as he dropped Lafayette's hand. "Such an injury require urgent medical attention, maybe even a plaster."  
"Casse-toi, Mulligan."  
"On the positive side, I guess you can now refer to yourself as my Sleeping Beauty," Hercules grinned.  
"Would that make you the witch?" Lafayette inquired. "Because then I'm all for it."  
Hercules threw George Shellton at him.

"WHERE DID MY TURTLE GO?!"  
John's scream echoed through their dorm, and Lafayette and Hercules smirked at each other. Through the wall they could hear Alexander's muffled response.  
"Here we go," Hercules said as they walked out into their living room.

Both John's and Alexander's eyes went wide as the two pranced in, Hercules carrying the turtle.  
"I present to you: The latest in fashion design for all four-legged reptiles!" Hercules declared. He raised the stuffed animal over his head, turning a full circle to show it off from all angles.  
John started at him.  
And stared.  
And stared.  
Then his shoulders curved inwards as he began laughing.  
"I– I can't– I can't _believe_ you two!" He managed to get out. Beside him Alexander held out his hands in silent demand for the turtle, still struggling to recover from his own fit of laughter. Hercules threw it to him, and Alexander turned it over, examining the clothing.  
"He's so fancy," Alexander said, almost managing to keep a straight face.  
"Of course he is. It's the latest fashion!" Hercules remarked.  
John shook his head in disbelief, still trembling with laughter. "You even gave him a shirt," he said.  
"And a tie," Lafayette added.  
"Yeah about that," Alexander said, poking the stark red fabric. "What's up with it? It looks… different."  
Hercules subtly pointed at Lafayette, if by subtly you mean by using his whole arm and mouthing, "It was him".  
Lafayette looked very offended.  
"That tie is a beautiful craftsmanship!"  
John and Alexander exchanged a look, and nodded gravely.  
"It is indeed," John announced.  
Then the four of them broke down laughing.

* * *

Hi people! I'm sorry the chapter is a little shorter this time, I hope you don't mind. It was really fun to write at least, and if you want to leave some response then please do! I know I always say (well, write) that, and I know it's probably a bit stupid to do so because everyone already knows that they can send me a message, so there's really no need to point it out. But hey, I really appreciate those comments so I guess I just want to say that I'm really happy someone would take time out of their day to send me a message or read my writing. You are all very cool people for reading my stories, I'm really happy you chose to do that. Take care!


	7. Cinnamon buns and monopoly

**Cinnamon buns and monopoly**

* * *

John sighed exasperatedly as he helped the others clean off the kitchen table. "How do you even _find_ this stuff, Laf?"  
"I told you, if you ever go shopping for food you might actually spot a store," Lafayette answered.  
Hercules chuckled mildly. "We passed a fair and they had this second hand booth," he said.  
"Was that where you bought the buns too?" Alexander inquired, gesturing to the bag of cinnamon buns that lied on the table.  
"If you're asking if we got them at the fair, yes," Lafayette said. "If you're asking if we bought them second hand, no."  
"Sweet, then they're probably safe to eat," John said and grabbed a bun. He bit into it and let out a soft moan. "They're still warm."  
Lafayette rolled his eyes, and Hercules responded with, "Yeah sure Laurens, enjoy your bun while _we_ unpack the rest of this monopoly, that _you're_ going to play with us.  
John gave him a thumbs up.

"Get your sticky hands off my dog!" Alexander said as he showed John's hand away from the tin animal. The monopoly game board was sprawled across the table, the money was sorted and they were ready to begin. Almost.  
"No! I want the dog."  
Lafayette leaned over to Hercules to theater whisper "I think this is the reason the game was on sale."  
Alexander– who currently held the dog game piece– stopped bickering with John to glare at the French boy, and to unceremoniously chuck the dog at his head.  
"Thanks ami!" Lafayette grinned as he caught the dog and placed at the starting square.  
"What? No!"  
"You can have this hat instead, Alex," Hercules laughed. "It kinda resembles a dog, just draw some whiskers on it or something."  
"I'll draw some whiskers on your face." Alexander muttred.

After a few minutes they eventually settled on their gaming pieces and could begin the game. Lafayette threw the rule booklet over his shoulder, stating that they didn't need to read through it, and then rolled the dice.  
"Do you want to buy that place?" Alexander, now the unofficial bankir asked once Lafayette had moved his piece.  
"Nah."  
"Okay sure, your turn John."  
John picked up the dice and somehow managed to land on the same spot as Laf.  
"Ohh, too bad you didn't buy it, 'cause now I will!" he grinned, handing over his money to Alexander.  
Lafayette muttered a rapid curse in french. "I'll still win you know."  
"Whatever you say."  
Hercules shook his head and threw the dice himself, moving along further than any of the others.  
"See you later, losers."  
"Not so fast, Mulligan," Lafayette responded. "Pick a chance card!" He gestured towards the square Hercules landed on, which was adorned with a big question mark.  
Hercules sighed, and reached for the pile of cards.  
"Congratulations, it's your birthday!" he read. "Received $20 from the player to your right." Hercules grinned at his friend. "Well that just so happen to be you, Laf!"  
Grumbling, Lafayette handed him a twenty, claiming that he was going to win despite everyone being against him.  
"You know what?" Alexander laughed as he threw his dice, "How about we play for the last bun? Winner gets to eat it himself."  
They all looked towards the last bun in the bag and a moment of silent agreement came over them.  
"Sounds good to me," John said, the others nodding their approval.  
"Nice," Alexander said as he moved his piece, the hat, in front of Hercules' and landed on the most expensive property yet. "Great, look forward to getting your rent!"

The game continued on, with John refusing to buy anything but the cheap properties.  
"John you are aware that you can afford more than the cheapest houses right?" Hercules finally asked after John refused to buy yet another street in favor of putting a hotel on the second square.  
"I know," was the other boy's only response.  
"Well I'm gonna buy the fancy streets," Alexander said. He rolled his dice, but instead landed on "Income tax".  
"Dammit," he muttered as he added $200 to the steadily growing pile in the middle of the board.  
Lafayette whistled. "Whoever gets all of that is going to become _rich_."  
"Indeed," Hercules said. He took the dice from Laf, scored a nine and landed on another chance card.  
"Let's hope this is as good as the last one," he smirked at Lafayette. Hercules' eyes quickly scanned the card and then he started laughing. "Your artistic genius payed off," he read, "Collect $300 for your hard work."  
"I guess the game found George Shellton's suit worthy," John laughed.  
Hercules nodded and, still grinning, collected his money from Alexander.

"YES!" Alexander screamed. He was met with a chuckle from John and mutual groans from Hercules and Lafayette.  
"Damn you, Hamilton," Hercules grumbled as Alexander traded a good portion of his money for the most expensive property on the board. "I was _so_ close." Indeed, his piece was only one square away from where Alexander's now stood.  
"At least you didn't land on it _after_ him," Lafayette pointed out as he rolled the dice and scored a ten. And landed on the same spot as Alexander.  
"Nooooo!" he wailed. Hercules bursted out into laughter.  
"This is too much," he managed to choke out as he watched Lafayette's anguished face. "How does that even happen?"  
"Je déteste ce jeu," Lafayette moaned, utterly defeated as he handed Alexander his money.  
"Pardon?" John laughed. "Laf, they only french I know is "Baguette"."  
Lafayette glared at him. "Well get a dictionary then!"  
John just glared back at him. Lafayette rolled his eyes and sighed, "It means I hate this game."

"Six," John said as he rolled his dice. "Wait that, means–" He carefully moved his piece, and let out a victory scream.  
"YES!" He triumphantly placed his tin boat on "Free parking" and swooped up all the money from the board's middle.  
"Oh come _on_ ," Lafayette groaned.  
"You said whoever would land here would be rich, and well–" John said as he flipped through his money, "I guess you were right."  
"Bastard," Hercules muttered, snatching the dice from John.  
"You'd better fund my building project now, John," Alexander laughed. "This stuff ain't cheap."  
In response, John clutched his money close to his chest, leaving Alexander to pay for the most expensive hotel in the game all on his own.

"You spent like a fortune on that hotel," John said as Alexander finally placed a red plastic house on his street.  
"Yeah, but I'm gonna earn a fortune on it too," Alexander responded. "Just you wait."

It almost seemed like he was wrong, as the others lapped the board three times without once landing on any of Alexander's properties. But then:  
"You've gotta be kidding me," Hercules said. He moved his piece all the way back from where he'd started and recounted his steps, but he still ended up in the same spot. The last square on the board, sporting a nice plastic hotel and sky high rent.  
Now it was Lafayette's turn to laugh. Hercules angrily swatted his head with the money he'd counted out for Alexander.  
"You lost money on that street too!"  
"Yeah but, not as much soo–" Lafayette laughed. In return, Hercules threw the dice at him.

Somehow they managed to continue without any fights breaking out, which Alexander honestly though was an achievement. Not the least after Lafayette, previously so smug about Hercules major setback, managed to step on every single one of John's properties. And as John had gone for buying all the cheap streets, he owned the entire first side of the board.  
"This is some witchcraft!" Lafayette'd yelled after the third time.  
"Well you see Laf, that's what happen when you _don't_ waste all your money on the fancy streets," John'd laughed. "This is all about quantity over quality."  
"That's _not_ how that saying goes, Laurens."

But now they seemed dangerously near the edge of a fist fight. Tension was tight between the four of them, and Alexander could almost taste it in the air. It wasn't made better by the huge sum that once again lied in the middle, either. They all raced to get to the free parking square, failing again and again. Until one of them didn't.  
Alexander could hardly believe it as he counted the squares he had left, sure he'd somehow counted wrong. But his tin hat ended up on that square. The free parking.  
There was a moment of dead silence as he put his piece down. Then Jon quietly said "No."  
Lafayette and Hercules made eye contact, before collectively flipping the game board.  
"This is stupid!" Lafayette yelled. Hercules looked like someone had just dumped a bucket of potatoes over him. John resorted to putting his head in his arms and breaking down laughing.

After the chaos had settled and they had found all the missing money they decided it was probably best to stop for the night.  
"I guess that means nobody wins then," John said.  
" _What?_ " Alexander said. "I was clearly in the lead!"  
"Yeah but you didn't _win_ ," Lafayette responded.  
Alexander exasperatedly threw his hands over his head.  
"I suggest we just share the last bun," Hercules said.  
"Sounds good," John agreed and reached for it.

So they ended up all enjoying the delicious cinnamon bun, and as far as Thursday nights go they all had to agree this was a pretty go way to spend one.

* * *

Hello, wonderful people! I hope you liked this chapter and that it was understandable, I just realized how different the English monopoly terminology is from the Swedish I'm used to. But just in case I got something wrong, feel free to point it out. Another thing I wanted to say is that I'm probably gonna take a little break from writing these chapters. I'm really really sorry, but I'm currently running out of ideas and I don't want to write stuff just for the sake of writing something. I do have an idea for a bit of a longer chapter I'm really excited about, but it will take some time to write and edit and I might just post it as a separate fic if it ends up being too long. I'm not going to stop posting here though, I'm having way too much fun writing these stories, but it could potentially be awhile before I upload. But hopefully it won't take too long, and if you think so you could always send me a message yelling at me to write something. Anyways, I hope you have an amazing day/night/ other time period, and take care!


	8. Revengeful cookies

**Revengeful cookies**

* * *

Alexander laughed as he watched Lafayette and Hercules debate whether throwing two reverse cards would mean that Lafayette got to play again. It seemed that no matter how many times they played Uno there was always some rule they couldn't agree upon. Just yesterday he and John had had a five minute discussion about if it was allowed to put down multiple plus four cards at once. Alexander had argued that it was, and was backed by both Hercules and Lafayette. John had claimed that it wasn't, but of course that had nothing to do with the fact that he would be that one to pick up the eight cards.  
"I'm telling you, it only changes what way the game goes, so if you throw two then it just continues as normal!" Hercules groaned.  
"No then it turns back to me!"  
"That doesn't even make sense Laf."  
"Of course it does."  
"It really doesn't."  
John shook his head. "While you two decided on that I'll grab some soda." He stood up and left, leaving Alexander to witness the debate all by himself.

"Guys there's something under the door!" John suddenly called from across the room. He'd stopped on his way to the kitchen and was now crouching on the floor. The two boys halted their argument to see what he was staring at.  
"What is it?" Alexander called back to him.  
"Some kind of note I think." John stood up, holding a folded piece of paper that had obviously been pushed under their door. He unfolded it and read,  
" _Hi, would you mind being a little quieter? The walls are pretty thin and Thomas is getting really mad at you.  
_ _/ Aaron (the guy next door)_."  
Lafayette looked aghast.  
" _They_ are asking _us_ to be quiet!?"  
John laughed. "To be fair Laf, you _did_ just have a pretty.. intense.. argument."  
"It was important!"  
"Exactly, Hercules agreed, "There is _no way_ that two reverse cards-"  
"Guys!" Alexander interrupted before the argument could break out again. "I think we should reply to them. After all _we're_ not the ones who are yelling about mac 'n cheese at two o'clock in the morning."  
Lafayette smirked. "That's an excellent idea, mon ami."

So he went and found a pen and composed a note.  
" _Dear Aaron (the guy next door),  
_ _Tell Thomas to stop yelling about mac n cheese.  
_ _/ The magnificent Lafayette_ ," Lafayette read aloud.  
Hercules snorted.  
"What, it's a perfect note!"  
"Agreed," Alexander said, also laughing. "Will you post it?"  
"Yup," Lafayette answered, prancing out into the corridor to dramatically slide the note under the neighbours door. He then frantically sprinted back into their dorm before anyone could see him.  
"I mean, that's one way to deliver a note," John said driliy.  
Lafayette bowed. "It sure is"

The four then busied themself's with making dinner, which meant Lafayette making batter, Hercules being confused by the stove, and John and Alexander discussing if pancakes were breakfast or dinner food.  
"If you two don't stop bickering and help out here you're not gonna be able to have pancakes for neither breakfast nor dinner," Hercules declared after the two had stopped helping out all together. "'Cause there won't be any pancakes at all."  
"Exactly," Lafayette chirped in. "You can save that for when you get married."  
"Hey!" Alexander called, he and John turning matching shades of red. They hadn't even been _that_ couple-y when the others were around, damnit. Thankfully they were saved by a rustling by the door.  
"Another note?" John said, with way more enthusiasm than the situation called for. He hurried over to the door to pick it up, his hair falling down to hide his blushing as he did so.  
John cleared his throat before unfolding the paper and reading,  
" _This is ridiculous. Please just quiet down a bit, thanks.  
_ _/Aaron_."  
Lafayette groaned. "How do you even answered that? And Herc, that's the oven, we're not grilling the pancakes in the oven."  
Hercules grumbled something unintelligible.  
"I think we should answer it with a question," Alexander said. He grabbed the pen that Lafayette had previously thrown on the dinner table and carefully printed their response.  
" _Why_."

Aarons answer came not even five minutes after that, just long enough for Hercules to figure out how to turn on the stove. This time it was Alexander who grabbed the paper.  
" _Honestly guys, just be sensible. I'm usually slow to anger but Thomas is threatening to play really loud country music if you don't stop "shouting" and I don't think any of us want that.  
_ _/Aaron."  
_ After he finished reading Alexander crumpled the paper and expertly aimed it at the trashcan. "We're not even being that loud," he sighed.  
"True," Lafayette said as Hercules yelped loudly and jumped away from the frying pan.  
"This thing shoots burning oil!" he yelled.  
Lafayette just shook his head in dismay.  
"It almost burned my hand off!"  
Lafayette grabbed the other boy's hand. "Let me see."  
He examined Hercules' hand for a good ten seconds before looking him straight in the eye and saying, "Such an injury require urgent medical attention, maybe even some cold water."  
"Bastard," Hercules muttered, pulling his hand back. John rolled his eyes.  
"Okay I admit it, this is probably some hilarious joke you two have, but I don't get it. Could we focus on deciding on a response for our dear neighbours instead?"  
Lafayette turned towards him with a wry grin.  
"Oh, I have an idea."

Lafayette explained his idea while they all munched down on their pancakes.  
"That's a great plan," John said after he'd finished. "But I don't feel like running to the store right now."  
"Store?" Lafayette asked, "Why would we go to the store? We have everything we need to make cookies."  
John open a random cupboard. "I don't see any cookie dough here."  
"Well, no, John. That's the plate cabin. And why would we have cookie dough at home already?"  
"What the hell do _you_ bake cookies with Laf?" Hercules asked.  
"Dough."  
John exasperatedly buried his head in his hands. "So we'd need to buy some dough before we make cookies!"  
Lafayette took on an expression as if he'd just seen a ghost.  
"You _buy_ cookie dough?"  
"Um, yeah."  
"What's WRONG with you Americans!?"  
Both John and Hercules looked incredibly offended.  
"Alexander, please side with me on this," Lafayette pleaded.  
Alexander laughed. "I'll have to support John and Herc on this, Laf."  
"Out of my kitchen, all of you."

They came back as soon as the smell of cookie dough started drifting through the apartment.  
"Here you go, gens paresseux," Lafayette said as he put the bowl down.  
"What was that?" Herc asked as Alexander smirked slightly.  
"Oh nothing," the French boy assured him.  
"Anyways it smells lovely," Alexander said.  
"Of course it does," Lafayette said, "I made i- John _no_!" He slapped the other boy's hand away from the bowl. "There's raw eggs in that, you'll get sick!"  
John pouted, but removed his hand nonetheless.  
"I mean you having some weird chicken disease would explain a lot, Laurens," Hercules chimed in.  
"Shut up!"  
"You're insufferable," Alexander sighed. "I'll go write the note while you finish these _chocolate chip_ cookies."  
"Mmhmm," Lafayette grinned as he dumped a whole bag of raisins into the dough and stirred it.

" _We're incredibly sorry for the inconvenience we caused. Please accept these cookies and our sincerest apologies.  
_ _/ Your neighbours,_ " Alexander read.  
"You sure know how to use some fancy words," Lafayette muttered.  
"Well, we have to let them know how truly sorry we are," John grinned.  
"Indeed." Alexander said.  
"And I'm sure the cookies will taste amazing." John continued.  
"Oh yeah?" Alexander mumbled under his breath, to quiet for the others to hear. "Prove it."  
John turned a spectacular shade of scarlet and busied himself with the ribbon they'd tied around the cookie bag.  
"Should we give it to them then?" Hercules asked after a moment of quiet.  
The others nodded and Hercules ventured out into the corridor to leave the cookies and note. The other made a good effort to conceal their giggles as he returned and they slowly shut their door. It wasn't long until the heard the subtle sound of another door opening, and muffled voices coming from their neighbours.  
"I think they got it," Alexander mumbed.  
"There's no way they're gonna fall for it though, is there?" Hercules asked. "Surely they'll see that there are raisins?"  
Lafayette shrugged. "They seem pretty stupid to me." They all held their breath in anticipation.

Then someone screamed.

And their apartment exploded with the sound of country music.  
It was almost loud enough to drown out the four boys laughter.

* * *

Hi again! I'm finally back from my little break, which ended up being a bit longer then I anticipated, mostly due to me being terrible at scheduling. But yeah, I'm back again, I'm sorry that it's been so long. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter anyways. By teh way I'd just like to say that I mean no offence to people that like country music or raisin cookies, but let's be honest, if someone gave you a raisin cookie and told you that it was a choclate chip you'd be pretty mad, wouldn't you?  
On another note, if I made a Tumblr with some Hamilton drawings/other shenanigans would you be interested in it? I know most people probably won't, but hey, if you'd think it'd be cool mabye tell me? I've been thinking about it for a while but I'm not sure if it'd be a good idea so I thought I'd check if anyone would be interested. As always, I'm hugely grateful that you read this, and take care!

Ps. Laf's "gens paresseux" means lazy people (I think).


	9. Book full of secrets

**Book full of secrets** (Everything written in French is translated at the end).

* * *

Alexander sat in his room, casually enjoying a good book. He could vaguely make out the sound of Laf and Hercules arguing in the kitchen, but decided it wasn't worth investigating. Hercules had probably just forgotten how to operate the sink or something. Besides, it was rare that he got to have a moment to himself, with school taking up so much time. He flipped a page, sinking deeper into the story and **–** was abruptly pulled from it as John threw his door open and ran into the room.  
"Alex! Did you see that sign? They're selling doughnuts in the cafeteria and they look so awesome!"  
Alexander smiled and closed his book, carefully bookmarking the page. John continued, sounding almost as excited as if the school had suddenly announced a two week holiday, or free turtle plushies.  
"They'll even have strawberry-chocolate doughnuts, with sprinkles and- Hold on."  
John's eyes caught on the book's title, which Alexander quickly tried to cover up. His hand fluttered helplessly to hide the gilded letters, but too late. John snatched the book out if his hands.  
"No way," the other boy breathed quietly. With eyes wide with disbelief he flipped to the page Alexander had bookmarked, well past the books middle.  
" _Il a quitté le navire, a franchi son premier pas dans le Nouveau Monde,_ " John read. Well, at least Alexander thought that was what he said; John's pronunciation was… interesting, to say the least.  
"Alexander!" John all but yelled, dramatically snapping the book shut. "Are you reading a book in _French_?!"  
"Uhh," Alexander said intelligibility. He wasn't even sure why he was so reluctant to tell John. Still, he almost sighed in relief when Lafayette poked his head through the doorway and saved him from answering.  
"Everything all right in here?" he grinned.  
Hercules popped in his head beside Lafayette. "We heard Laurens scream so we thought we should check on you."  
"And then we thought we probably shouldn't, just in case it was.. intended," Hercules smirked.  
"But then we decided that it would be sad if Turtle-boy died," Lafayette concluded. Then he noticed the book the supposedly dead John held. "Wait wait wait. Is that... French?"  
John grinned at him and threw the book to Alexander. "Ask Alex."  
"Um yeah. It is," Alexander answered awkwardly. There was a momentary silence.  
"You speak French?" Hercules finally asked, though it wasn't really a question.  
"Yup."  
"WHY DID YOU NOT SAY ANYTHING!" Lafayette yelled, disbelief etched across his face.  
"Ehm."  
"For God's sake Laf," Hercules chuckled, "You'll scare him to death."  
"But, but-"  
"I kinda forgot."  
"How do you _forget_ that you speak another _language_?" John asked incredulously as he sat down on Alexander's bed and leaned against his boyfriend. "I can't believe you." he mumbled into Alexander shoulder.  
It just never came up in conversation and, well," Alexander shrugged, "it would've been weird to just say it after so long time and I didn't really know how to tell you and **–** " he trailed off, looking down at the floor.  
"So hang on a minute, you understand Laf?" Hercules said.  
"Yup."  
John chuckled, his laugh vibrating through Alexander. "I can't believe you didn't tell us." He shook his head in disbelief. "But you're bilingual? That's so cool!" he grinned.  
"Indeed," Hercules agreed as he moved over to them and left Lafayette alone by the door. "So when did you start learning French?"

Alexander smiled weakly, feeling relief flooding over him. It's not like he thought they'd be angry or anything, but still; it was a fairly big reveal.  
"Well I started taking lessons when I was young, but then I quit them as I turned 15. My mother was half-French, so she thought it important that I learnt the language. I haven't studied it since though, but I read some books from time to time. A lot of books are better in French."  
" _Vous avez pris le français depuis votre_ enfance?" Lafayette suddenly asked, looking as betrayed as an abandoned puppy where he stood by the door.  
"Um _, je l'ai mais je ne l'ai pas parlé depuis très longtemps_."  
Lafayette glared at him.  
" _Je te déteste tellement, je ne peux pas croire que tu ne m'as jamais dit ça. C'est probablement le pire que vous pourriez jamais faire pour moi et c'est tellement grossier_ ," he snarled at Alex, even as his eyes begun to shine with amusement and he fought to keep a smile of his face. Still sounding like he was contemplating murdering Alexander he continued, " _Et aussi, vous devriez absolument emmener votreami à une date, en disant simplement._ "  
Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose.  
" _Je garderai cela à l'esprit, Monsieur l'expert amoureux,_ " he laughed.  
"What." Hercules said, turning his head between them. "What are you saying?"  
"Oh nothing," Lafayette smirked.  
"I think Laf might be planning to kill me for not telling him that I know French," Alexander sighed.  
"Um okay, anyways," Hercules said, looking sideways at the boy by the door and then shrugging. "Is it hard to speak more than one language, I mean do you ever get them mixed up?"

John raised his head from Alexander's shoulder to listen to what he would say, and Alexander absentmindedly took his hand before answering.  
"Not really. I mean sometimes I forget what a word is in English but remember it in French, that's a bit scary," he said with a chuckle. "But I haven't talked French in such a long time that it's not really a problem anymore."  
"That's pretty cool," Hercules said, John nodding in agreement. "So **–** "  
"WHY DID YOU NOT PAY THIS MUCH ATTENTION TO ME? I ALSO SPEAK FRENCH!" Lafayette wailed from the door, looking heartbroken. "You are the worst!"  
He turned on his heel and stormed out, coincidentally as the oven decided that it was the perfect time to announce that their food was ready.  
"Wow," John said, "I almost thought he was mad about the French. "  
Hercules just laughed.  
"Dear God, I should probably go talk to him," he said as Lafayette audibly closed the oven door.

Dinner was an interesting occasion. Lafayette had cooked a delicious meal, as was normal. But he refused to talk with Alexander. In English, that was.  
"Lafayette please," Alexander laughed, "this is ridiculous."  
"Oh, _je ne le ferai pas,_ " Lafayette said with a grin. " _Je ne parlerai plus jamais anglais avec vous_ "  
" I **–** _Je n'ai même pas parlé français depuis un an! Je suis_ **–** " he paused, searching for the right word. " _Je suis terrible à ce sujet!_ "  
" _C'est une bonne pratique, mon ami_."  
" _Vous êtes insupportable._ "  
"See, I don't know what you're saying," John said as he loaded potatoes onto his plate. "But I do think I noticed the word for "absolute bastards" which is exactly what you two are."  
" _Extrêmement talentueux et magnifique?_ " Lafayette asked him.  
"Yeah, that one,"John answered, causing Alexander to have to put a considerable effort into not spitting out the water he'd just consumed.  
"Hang on," Hercules said as he glared suspiciously at Laf. "I'm fairly sure I recognized the word for gorgeous. What did you just call yourself?"  
Lafayette exchanged a glance with Alexander, the latter now trying very hard not to laugh.  
"Guess what, Lafayette."  
"What, Herc?"  
"Thou art. An ass!" Hercules said as he flicked a cherry tomato at the French boy. John quickly caught on, flinging a potato at Lafayette as well. Lafayette took this as his cue to leave, and fled the table.  
"You're doing the dishes!" his voice echoed into the kitchen, where the three others could hardly breath due to laughing too hard.

* * *

Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and that I didn't get the French too wrong. Anyway, here are the translations:

 _Il a quitté le navire, a franchi son premier pas dans le Nouveau Monde.  
_ He walked off the ship, taking his first step in the New World.

 _Vous avez pris le français depuis votre_ enfance?  
You've taken French since you was a _child?_

 _Je l'ai mais je ne l'ai pas parlé depuis très longtemps.  
_ I have but I haven't spoken it in a very long time.

 _Je te déteste tellement, je ne peux pas croire que tu ne m'as jamais dit ça. C'est probablement le pire que vous pourriez jamais faire pour moi et c'est tellement grossier.  
_ I hate you so much, I can't believe you never told me this. This is probably the worst thing you could ever do to me and it is so rude.

 _Et aussi, vous devriez absolument emmener votre ami à une date, en disant simplement.  
_ And also you should totally take your friend there out on a date, just saying.

 _Je garderai cela à l'esprit, Monsieur l'expert amoureux.  
_ I'll keep that in mind, Mr love-expert.

 _Oh, je ne le ferai pas.  
_ Oh I won't.

 _Je ne parlerai plus jamais anglais avec vous_.  
I won't ever speak English with you again.

 _Je n'ai même pas parlé français depuis un an! Je suis_ **–** _  
_I've hardly even spoken French for the past year! I'm **–**

 _Je suis terrible à ce sujet!  
_ I'm terrible at it!

 _C'est une bonne pratique, mon ami.  
_ It's good practise, friend.

 _Vous êtes insupportable.  
_ You're insufferable

 _Extrêmement talentueux et magnifique?  
_ Extremely talented and gorgeous?

So yeah, i think that's it. I'd just like to give a huge thank you to Padawan Maxine Skywalker, as she gave me the idea for this when she asked if I would ever write about Alexander being multilingual, so thanks! Take care!


	10. Forbidden paws

**Forbidden paws**

* * *

Alexander woke to the sound of indistinct shuffling and mumbling. In a desperate attempt to avoid both the sounds and the sunlight leaking in through his window he turned and buried his face in his pillow. The pillow, unfortunately, was occupied by John's hair. Alexander grumbled, but couldn't keep from smiling. John looked adorable when he was sleeping, his mouth slightly open and his features utterly relaxed. It was hard to be annoyed at someone when they looked so innocent, even if if they were hogging your best pillow.

Alexander was contemplating waking John so they could have some breakfast, when there was an unexpected noise coming from outside his bedroom.  
"Woof."  
Alex glared at the door, though the door was surely not at fault. Most likely the idiots on the other side of the door were watching dog videos. Lafayette had been obsessed with them lately. A glance at John told him that the other boy was still sleeping, and wasn't too likely to wake up soon. With a sigh Alexander propped himself up on his elbows and, unable to stop himself, lightly kissed John's forehead before he ventured out into their dorm to investigate what the puppy video was all about.

It was not a puppy video.  
Hercules was sat at their dining table, groaning with his head in his hands. Lafayette was sat on the floor in his pajama bottoms, holding a dog and cooing at it.  
"What."  
Both Hercules and Lafayette looked up at him.  
"Oh hi," Lafayette said, at the same time Hercules said, "Oh God Alexander please help me talk some sense into Laf."  
Lafayette's dog bounded of his lap and ran towards Alexander with its tail wagging behind it.  
"Oh um hi," Alexander said as the dog jumped up at him. Following Laf's example he sat down on the floor and scratched the dog's ears.  
"Are you going to tell me why there is a puppy in this house, or will I have to guess?"  
Hercules let out a sound halfway between a sob and a sigh and Lafayette laughed.  
" _Eh bien, bref mes parents étaient–"  
_ "I swear to God Laf if I have to listen to any more French!" Hercules cut in as he made his way over to them.  
Lafayette raised his eyebrows at him, but obliged.  
"As I said, my relatives were in town and they brought their dog," he continued and gestured towards the puppy currently licking Alexander's nose. "Then they decided they wanted to go on some sight seeing and asked if I could take care of her."  
"And," Hercules said, "this absolute _idiot_ said he could."  
"So now she's here,"Lafayette finished with a brilliant smile. He whistled and the dog shot towards him in a streak of grey and white. She made to jump onto his lap, or at least Alexander assumed that was her intention, but missed and instead hit Lafayette in the chest.  
"Umpf," Laf groaned as he toppled backwards in a flurry of limbs and fur.  
"What the _hell_ is going on?"  
Alexander and Hercules turned towards the sound, and Lafayette managed to lift his head slightly. John stood in the doorway to Alexander's room and looked very very confused.  
"I'm puppy sitting." Lafayette said, still wrestling with the dog.  
"What." John said, echoing Alexander.  
"Mhmmm," Lafayette sputtered as the puppy put a paw over his mouth. With an exasperated sigh Hercules rescued the boy from a fluffy death, lifting said puppy like a baby.

"Right," John said once Lafayette was out of immediate danger. He joined Alexander on the floor and cleared his throat. "Eh, not to ruin the fun, but I'm fairly sure this dorm is a no-pets place?"  
"That's what I said!" Hercules moaned as he scratched the puppy's tummy. "But he just won't listen!"  
"Aww come on," Lafayette said and recounted his story for John "She needed a place to stay!"  
"We can't keep a _dog_ here Laf." Hercules said, still cuddling the dog.  
"Please."  
John laughed. "She's really cute, isn't she? What's her name?" he asked reaching for the dog.  
"Adrienne," Laf said as Hercules reluctantly passed away the dog.  
"A-dri-en-ne?" John cooed as he pat her. "Yeah I think I'll call her Nenne."  
"So we're keeping her?" Alexander laughed as he reached over to stroke her too. Seeing Hercules expression he added, "Oh come on Herc, you don't particularly care about rules anyway."  
"I don't mind some harmless rule breaking, no," Hercules said as he sank down on the floor next to Lafayette. "I'm totally fine with some well deserved pranking or the occasional party, but I do think that bringing a _puppy_ into our _dorm_ is a little far."  
Lafayette, Alexander, John, and Nenne turned to him with puppy eyes.  
Hercules threw his hands in the air. "Oh for God's sake, fine!"  
Nenne licked his face in thanks.

The spent a good part of the day playing with the puppy. Lafayette's relatives had been kind enough to supply a basket of dog toys.  
"Good puppy, gooood," John cooed at Nenne as he rolled a big plastic ball at her. She bounded after it towards a grinning Alexander who caught the ball and threw it back at John. Nenne skidded to a stop and changed direction, almost slipping into a pouting Lafayette.  
"She scarred me!" he wailed, examining the pink lines the dog had left over his torso during their wrestling match.  
"Yeah well, maybe if you had, you know, worn a _shirt_ ," Hercules said drily.  
"Oh please, don't pretend like you don't like it."  
Hercules rolled his eyes, but grinned.  
And was hit in the face by a red plastic ball.  
"Sorry!" John called from across the room.  
Hercules threw the ball back at him, which Nenne took as a perfect opportunity to catch it mid-air. Unfortunately for John "mid-air" happened to be just above him.

When John had recovered from his face full of fur Lafayette decided that it was time for a walk.  
"Can't we eat first?" Hercules groaned.  
"Agreed," John added.  
"You know, you _could_ cook food yourself, it's not rocket science," Lafayette said.  
"But I don't want to."  
"Also," Alexander said, "Do you plan on just waltzing out into the corridor with her, because I think our neighbors might have something to say about that."  
Lafayette wrinkled his face in concentration, before brightening up.  
"I have an idea!" He declared before snatching up a shirt from a chair and running out the door. "And fry some bacon while I'm gone!" he called back at them.  
The three boys looked at each other and shrugged. Clearly neither of them knew what Lafayette was up to.

They had not fried bacon when he came back. To be fair though it hadn't even been ten minutes before he was home again, accompanied by a giant beach bag.  
"What," Alexander said, "is that."  
"It's my special sneak-an-illegal-dog-out-of-your-dorm-device," Lafayette answers. "See, it works like this."  
He scooped Nenne out of John's lap, much to the protest of the other boy, and dumped her in the bag.  
"Look it works great!"  
Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose.  
"Yeah sure Laf, whatever works for you."  
" _Au revoir, me souhaite une chance!_ " Lafayette laughed before running out again.  
"Mind your language!" Hercules called after him.  
Lafayette sturdily ignored him, instead waving happily at a boy Alexander had never seen before. The boy stood outside their neighbours' dorm and eyed Lafayette's bag suspiciously, probably due to the fact the beach bags don't normal move. He then made a very clear "Not my problem" face and walked back inside his dorm. Lafayette grinned at the boy's back before skipping down the stairs.

Once he got back, and merrily reported that no one had suspected anything, they decided to make some food. Or, Lafayette decided to make some food after the others bugged him about it.  
He did get his profit though, as Nenne seemed much more inclined to cuddle up to the person with bacon than the people without.  
"That's unfair," John complained. "I even have her ball!"  
"Hey, if you wanna cook the food then that's fine by me," Lafayette grinned at him. "But otherwise I think I'll cash in on dog privileges."  
John grumbled an inaudible response.

They stayed in their living room during the evening, trying hard to conceal Nenne's occasional woof's and feeding her scraps of food to win her favour. Alexander was feeling especially victorious when the puppy decided to stay on his lap despite John's best attempt to lure her away with bacon. Or at least he did until he got a face full of dog saliva.  
"Actually you can have her," Alexander said as he quickly lifted the dog away and wiped his face on his sleeve. "Yuck."  
Adrienne seemed content to use John as her new lollipop and stayed with him for a good three minutes. Then, despite both Lafayette and Hercules calling for her she trudged into Lafayette's bedroom.  
"Nooo come back," Lafayette wailed. The four of them got up to follow the dog, albeit Alexander doing so a bit warily.

Nenne had found a perfect spot in Laf's room. She was sprawled over his bed, her puppy form taking up almost half of his bed. She was fast asleep.  
"Uh, Nenne?" John said giving her a gentle shove. She didn't move. "I guess she needed a nap," he laughed.  
"But did she have to nap _there_?" Hercules complained.  
"Wow you seem more upset than Laf, and I thought he was the one that had his bed taken over by a dog," Alexander said teasingly.  
"I– Yeah but I, ugh!" Hercules said.  
"I think it's seems great, she'll make an awesome pillow," Lafayette said and jumped onto his bed. "She really soft," he said as he repositioned himself to lean against Nenne. "I bet she doesn't even flail around when she sleeps," he added with a meaningful glance towards Herc.  
Hercules stuck his tongue out at him and left the room, leaving behind a John and an Alexander who both felt like there was something they hadn't been informed about.

* * *

Transaltions:

 _Eh bien, bref mes parents étaient–  
_ Well, in short my relatives are–

 _Au revoir, me souhaite une chance!  
_ Bye, wish me luck!

Hi! I'm posting this chapter a bit earlier than usual because I won't be able to post for the next 12-13 days so that chapter is going to be a bit late. I hope you don't mind and that this chapter will be satisfying enough until I can write the next one, and I promise I'll do it as soon as I get the chance. And if you want leave me a message it'd make me very happy, feel free to tell me that you just watered your plants or finished your homework if you want to. Thanks so much for reading and take care!

Edit: To the person asking what breed Nenne is, she's a husky!


	11. Cleaning up paw prints

**Cleaning up paw prints**

* * *

"Hey, when did Laf say he'd return?" Hercules called from the couch.  
"He didn't," Alexander called back from the dining table where he and John were busy building card houses. "He just said he'd return Nenne."  
John snorted, which caused him to accidentally destroy his card house. "If he's gonna return Nenne than he'll be there all day, crying his eyes out about having to leave her."  
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, because I seem to recall a certain someone being _quite_ teary-eyed over the fact that a certain dog had to go home."  
"And that same someone plastering pictures of his turtles all over his room," Hercules chimed in.  
John studiously ignored both of them.

Lafayette didn't actually come home as late as John had predicted. Instead he sauntered in at a quarter past three, bringing news.  
"There are people moving in downstairs!" he announced. "I saw them as a came back from leaving Nenne, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be in our class."  
"Uhuh," John hummed as he carefully finished off his three-tier card house. "And who are 'they'?"  
"It's two girls," Laf said, causing both Alexander and Hercules to roll their eyes at his amazing deduction skills. John was too occupied with looking proudly at his card house to do any eye rolling.  
One of them had this really pretty hair," Lafayette continued, absent-mindedly touching his own curls. "She wore a pink shirt. The other one had black hair and wore a blue dress. I'm fairly sure they're sisters, at least they acted like it." He suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh, there was a third girl too, she had a yellow shirt!"  
"So there are three girls moving in right now, and they are probably sisters," Alexander summarised.  
Lafayette shrugged. "Yeah probably, but I don't think the last one is moving in. She said something about "Next year!" and then she hugged the others like she was saying goodbye."  
"Okay then, there are _two_ girls moving in right now, and they are probably sisters. Anything else we need to know?" John said.  
Lafayette ginned. "They're both really attractive, if that interests you."  
Hercules raised his eyebrows and casually crossed his arms.  
"Uh, like, aesthetically attractive, like oh-her-face-is-symmetrical-attractive, not I-want-to-date-you-attractive!" Lafayette hastily added.  
John laughed. "I think I'm good, thanks," he said as he threaded his finger through Alexander's.  
"Yeah me too," Alexander said happily.

The four had just decided on a relaxing movie to watch, in celebration of having managed to care for Nenne the entire weekend, when they spotted a note under their door.  
"Again?" Hercules asked incredulously as he stood to pick it up. "What did we do this time?"  
"Oh shit," he continued softly as he unfolded it.  
"What?" Alexander called. "What does it say?"  
Hercules silently passed him the paper, and both John and Laf peered over Alexander's shoulder to read it.

 _Dear neighbours,  
_ _We know._

 _All three of us saw you taking a dog out from your apartment, and the evidence suggest that you've had it there for a few days. As we're sure you know, pets aren't allowed in the dorms. I'm certain that we can agree that it would be in your best interest if this information stayed between us, but unfortunately for you we have no reason not to spread it. Unless.  
_ "Unless what?" John breathed quietly.  
 _Our dorm is somewhat... messy. We had planned on cleaning it this weekend but things got in the way. We're headed out for the evening and will be back at nine. If our dorm is clean by then, the teachers won't know what we know.  
_ _Cheers,  
_ _Thomas, James and (reluctantly) Aaron_

Lafayette let out a long string of curse words that made Alexander regret ever learning French.  
"What do we do now?" John asked. "And what on earth do they mean by 'reluctantly'?"  
"Probably that it wasn't Aaron's idea," Alexander sighed. "As for the first question, I don't know."  
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Hercules said. "We clean their apartment."

"At least they left the door unlocked," Lafayette muttered as they entered the neighbouring dorm. The entrance was a jumble of shoes, but nothing too bad.  
"Right," John said. "I say we start here." He bent down and started picking amongst the shoes. "Who wears _high heeled boots_?" he cried, holding up a pair of black leather boots that did indeed have heels. Short, broad heels, but heels nonetheless.  
"Take a guess," Alexander grumbled, gesturing vividly to the magenta coat that hung on a rack. "Same guy that wears _that_."

Once they'd finished the hallway the moved further into their neighbour's dorm. The combined living room and kitchen was identical to their own, except with more dirty dishes and more virginian state flags. They decided to start with the bedrooms instead.  
"Well I guess this is good news," Hercules said and gestured to a door. Taped to it was a quickly scrawled note that read, _Do not enter, I can clean on my own_.  
"Less work for us," John said merrily and made to walk past it. Lafayette ignored the note and opened the door to peek inside.  
"Nothing much," he reported. "It's clinically neat in here."

The other dorm was not. It looked like a small bomb had detonated inside it. Books and clothes were sprawled over the floor, posters for bands Alexander had never heard of covered the walls and the desk was overflowing with pens and paper. The only thing that looked orderly was the top bunk bed, which was neatly made and in fact looked as if no one had ever slept in it  
"Where," Hercules said, "do we even start?"  
Alexander found that to be a very good question.

They spent a good two hours cleaning the room, throwing clothes on the bed and desperately trying to stack the papers and books onto the desk. The most time consuming part turned out to be folding all the clothes, which John happily left to the others as he took on the task of vacuuming.  
"So now what?" Alexander asked when they had finally managed to restore the room to normal living conditions.  
"I guess the other rooms?" John groaned. "How many more can there be?"  
It turned out there were only two, as they quickly realised that two of the boys must've had to share a bedroom since there were no others. That left the kitchen and bathroom.  
"It's already eight o'clock," Alexander said. "So I say we split up or else we won't be able to get this done in time."  
"Okay." Lafayette said. Then he turned on his heel and ran away shouting "I call dibs on the kitchen!"  
"Wait no–" Alexander called back after him, but to no avail. John sighed.  
"It looks like we get the bathroom."

The bathroom wasn't as horrible has Alexander had feared, even though it was still gross. But with two people cleaning it didn't even take that long and their session passed uneventfully. Until John looked at the soap they were using.  
"Hey," he smirked, holding out the bottle to Alexander. "It's clover scented."  
"Is it really?" Alexander said, taking the bottle. "I guess so," he drawled slowly.  
The two boys made eye contact, and then John's lips were pressed against Alexander's.

Alexander gasped slightly as he leaned back against the wall, and felt John's body moving with him. The other boy's hands curled into Alexander's hair, leaving burning trails where he touched him. Alexander wrapped his own hands around John's back and pulled him closer to himself. He felt his body being pressed harder against the wall as their lips parted and the kiss deepened, but he didn't care. The world ignited, and all he could taste was John, all he could feel was John, all he could think was John.  
Then John slipped on the wet floor.

"Oh crap. Are you okay?" Alexander asked breathlessly as he extended his hand.  
"Yeah," John said sheepishly as he used it to pull himself from the floor. "Sorry 'bout that."  
"Don't worry, you're sure you didn't hurt yourself?"  
John nodded. "I guess we should mop up this water though."  
And they did, until they were interrupted by a loud bag from the kitchen. After exchanging equally confused glances they got up and followed the noise.

In the kitchen they found Lafayette and Hercules, the former leaning against a wall and the latter standing only a few inches away from him. When Alexander and John entered they quickly jumped apart and turned away, concealing their faces.  
"Everything okay in here?" John asked. "Are you trying to demolish the place?"  
"Of course not!" Hercules said immediately. "We were, erm, doing the dishes. And Laf knocked down a pan!" He went to grab a pan that was indeed lying on the floor, and which Alexander presumed had been the cause of the loud noise. Lafayette nodded enthusiastically, ignoring the pointed look Alexander gave the incredibly dry sink.  
"Also," Lafayette said, quickly changing the subject. "Look at this!" He pulled open one of the cabins to reveal shelves full of instant mac 'n cheese packets.  
John whistled. "That's a lot."  
"I know!" Lafayette said. "And it's not even good ones, see all of this is–" He was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.  
"Do you think it's them?" Hercules asked quietly.  
"Probably," Alexander said. "Let's go."  
And together the ran out of the apartment, Lafayette giving a vulgar gesture to the three people taht walked into the corridor.

* * *

Hi! I won't write a lot here because I'm super tired, but thanks for reading, I appreciate it so so much. Take care!


	12. A fair discovery

**Fair discovery**

* * *

"Do we have any plans for today?" Alexander asked.  
"Not that I'm aware of," John answered him.  
Lafayette made a noise of agreement, casually flipping through a newspaper.  
"Should we do something?" Hercules said. "It's a Saturday after all and we don't have any small mammals to care for anymore."  
"There seems to be a fair in town," Lafayette mumbled as he scanned an article. "Maybe we could go there."  
The four had a quick discussion, and mutually agreed on going to the fair. After all, it was a sunny autumn day and none of them had much homework to do. Well, at least not much homework that they _wanted_ to do.

"This is bigger than I thought it would be," John said in astonishment.  
Alexander nodded in agreement. The fair did seem to stretch on and on. It was located on a field near their campus, only a short bus ride away. The entire area was filled with brightly painted attractions, blinking lights and laughing people. Alexander felt the brisk breeze play through his hair and breathed in the smell of the fair.  
"So where do we start?" Lafayette said with a grin.

They started at a carousel. After purchasing their tickets from a lady in a booth, who stared at them very judgmentally, they each jumped onto a plastic horse. Alexander picked a jet black one, next to the chocolaty brown taht John choose.  
"Black like your soul, Hamilton," Hercules joked, seated proudly atop his own grey horse.  
"And grey like your personality," Alexander shot back.  
John and Lafayette laughed at them, accompanied by a small kid that was sat right behind them. Alexander was pretty sure the kid didn't understand the joke though, but he appreciated the support. Hercules did not look pleased. But before he could retort the carousel started.

"Wheee!" Lafayette cheered, holding tight to the snowy white neck of his steed as it bobbed up and down a few inches.  
"Just wait until someone tells him about carousels that are made for people _above_ the age of five," John theather whispered to Alexander. "He'll go crazy."  
"Hey, I heard that!" Lafayette sent them a disapproving look. "And I'll have you know that an honorable man must have a good relationship with his horse!"  
"And here I was, thinking it hard to have a relationship with a clump of plastic," Hercules muttered. Lafayette mockingly scrunched up his face at him, and lovingly stroked the mane of his horse.  
John, clearly deciding that the conversation was going downhill, sniffed the air.  
"Is that cotton candy I smell? Great!" The carousel came to a halt and he hopped off, quickly followed by the others. They followed the scent further into the fair, Hercules and Lafayette still bickering.

Shortly after they found the stall and got their cotton candy, Lafayette spotted some familiar faces.  
"Look over there!" He whispered. "But be subtle!"  
John and Alexander glanced inconspicuously in the direction he'd indicated, while Hercules turned his entire head.  
"Idiot!" Lafayette whispered angrily at him. "But see, those are the girls I was telling you about, the ones that are moving in."  
"Aha," Hercules mumbled back. "You were right, they _are_ really attractive," he added with a smirk. Lafayette punched his arm.  
Alexander had to admit he had a point. Now, he had no interest whatsoever to leave the boy whose hand he was currently holding, which wasn't the easiest thing to do while holding a large stick of spun sugar. But these girls were very pretty.  
Just as he thought that one of them, the girl dressed in pink leather jacket looked over at them. She must have seen Hercules' head movement because she raised her eyebrows and smirked.  
And begun to walk over to them  
"Oh shit," Lafayette whispered.

"I believe I recognise you," the girl said to Laf. "I saw you when we were moving in. Do we perhaps go to the same school?"  
"Uh," Lafayette answered. "I, uh, yeah probably."  
The girl laughed warmly and stroked her hair behind her ears. "My name is Angelica Schuyler," she said and extended a hand towards Laf, who shook it.  
"Eh, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette." He bowed and grinned at her. "But I go by Lafayette."  
"Right," Angelica said with a smile, before shaking the others' hands. Then she gestured to the girl behind her. "This is my sister."  
The other girl smiled at them. "Elizabeth Schuyler, but call me Eliza," she said. She, too, shook their hands as they introduced themselves.  
"Alexander Hamilton," Alexander said when it was his turn. Eliza's hand was warm in his grip and she smiled at him with kind eyes.  
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said before moving on to shake John's hand.

"So I take it we live in the same building them," Angelica said once the greetings were over. Lafayette nodded, as he was the only one that had actually seen where the girls lived.  
"That's cool," Eliza said. "It's nice getting to know some of the people at campus that I don't have class with."  
Angelica nodded thoughtfully, and her eyes dropped to John and Alexander's entwined hands. Her eyes glittered with realization for a moment before she looked up at them again.  
"Of course Angie here has already made some friends," Eliza continued and shoved her sister playfully. "But not all of us find our best buddies in the first week of school."  
Angelica rolled her eyes at this.  
"I've gotten to know a couple of people, Eliza, which is usually deemed as normal social interaction. And none of them are my 'Best buddies'."  
"Yeah sure," her sister laughed. Then she gave the boys a knowing look and said, "I swear she became friends with that guy Thomas Jefferson not even two hours into our first day here."  
The four boys froze.

"Eh– Thomas Jefferson?" Alexander asked. "He doesn't happen to, uh, live in the same building as us?"  
Eliza nodded.  
"And has he, um, mentioned anyone else that lives there? Like, his neighbours?"  
Angelica laughed, and shared a look with her sister.  
"He has, I take it you are his dearly beloved neighbours? Maybe the ones who allegedly "Poisoned" his mac and cheese?"  
"And tricked him with raisin cookies," Eliza added.  
Alexander looked over at the other boys.  
"That… might be us," Hercules finally said.  
"I thought so," Angelica said with an amused smile. "But don't worry, I've figured that Thomas can judge people pretty easily."  
Lafayette breathed out a sigh of relief.  
"And anyone who has rap battles at one o'clock is a person I want to meet." Eliza laughed.  
Alexander took a swooping bow, pulling John with him. "At your service!"  
The two girls laughed at them, and Hercules gave a salute.

They stayed and talked to their new friends for a while, until the girls said that they had to leave. They waved goodbye and decided that they had to meet up again sometime soon.  
"Well that went well," Hercules said.  
"Yup," John agreed. "Especially given that they knew Mr. Purple coat."  
"That's very true," Alexander said. "Though why she'd want to be friends with _him_.."  
They others strongly agreed.

"So," Alexander said once they'd finished their cotton candy. "Where to now?"  
"I want to try the roller coaster," John suggested.  
"I was about to say the Ferris wheel," Hercules said.  
"I think I agree with you Herc," Lafayette said. "What about you Alexander?"  
"It doesn't really matter, but it's getting pretty late. How about we split up and you guys can go on the Ferris wheel and John and I can go on the roller coasters?"  
"Sounds good to me," Lafayette said. "Anyone object?"  
Clearly no one did, so they decided to stick with Alexander's idea.  
"Have fun on your date!" Lafayette called after them as John and Alexander begun to walk away.  
"Yeah you too!" John called back at them. It was hard to see from the distance, but Alexander could have sworn that Lafayette blushed ever so slightly.

"Are you okay Alex?" John asked as they lined up for the ride.  
"Yeah," Alexander answered, swallowing hard. "It's just, I'm not a huge fan of rollercoasters."  
"Oh no, why didn't you say that? We can do something else instead!"  
"No no it's fine, I don't mind."  
"You're sure?"  
"Yeah," Alexander nodded.  
"Here, I'll hold your hand," John offered as the sat down in the train. Alexander took it gratefully. He knew his fear was irrational, and he really did want to go on the rollercoaster. It was going to be okay.  
The ride took off.

Alexander screamed his lungs out at the first drop, crushing John's hand in his grip. Beside him, John laughed happily as they plunged down the track. They lurked back up again, and Alexander caught his breath. He'd survived the first drop, everything was fine. They stopped briefly at the top of the next drop, and Alexander glanced over at his boyfriend. John grinned back at him with shining eyes. "Ready?" he asked.  
They dropped again.

Alex was pretty sure that his stomach had stayed at the top while the rest of his body followed the track down. He held on hard to the railing of the ride, clamping his lips shut together. They took a sharp turn and did a loop and– Alexander laughed. He felt his body slowly easing up, and the ache in his stomach turned into a pleasant tickle. When the train lurked down the final slope he yelled cheerfully.

"That wasn't too bad was it?" John asked once they got off.  
"It wasn't," Alexander assured him with a grin. "It was actually much better than I had expected."  
Dusk had fallen and the lights around them seemed to shine much brighter than the had before. John laughed, his hair all ruffled from the wild ride.  
"That's good, I thought you might throw up for a moment."  
"Oh I'm still think I might, Laurens," Alexander smirked. "But it would be worth it."  
John grinned at him, the blinking lights illuminating his face and reflecting in his eyes. Alexander was stricken with the sudden desire to kiss him.  
Apparently John had the same thought.

When they decided to head back to where they were supposed to meet their friends night had fallen completely. Still, all the lights from the different attractions lit up the place and Alexander had to admit it looked really cozy where they walked hand in hand, the smell of street food and popcorn drifting through the air.  
"So, aren't they supposed to be here?" John asked when the reached the spot where they had split up. Alexander shrugged.  
"Maybe there was a long line?"  
John scanned the surroundings, and finally looked up at the Ferris wheel.  
"Isn't that them?" He said, pointing at two silhouettes. "Hang on. Are they… kissing?"  
Alexander looked.  
"Yup."  
"Wow."  
"Yup."  
"I can't _believe_ they didn't tell us!"  
"Agreed," Alexander said, squeezing John's hand.  
"Well that's a surprise."  
"Is it really though?" Alexander asked, thinking back on all the times he'd suspected his friends might be more than friends. The fact that Lafayette seemed to spend more time in Hercules' room than his own. The pan incident of last week. The comment Laf had made about _someone_ flailing a lot when they were asleep. Hell, now that he thought about it, the very first time they'd met Lafayette had seemed to be flirting with Hercules. John seemed to be thinking the same thing.  
"I guess not," he grinned.

* * *

Well, this turned out to be a bit of a longer chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. I have been wanting to write about them going to a fair for so long now, and I finally managed to do it, yay! I just want to tell you that I have started school now so I'll have a lot less time to write. Hopefully this won't affect my uploading too much, but I know that I'll have pretty intense practise the upcoming weeks so when I post might be a bit irregular. On another note GravityUniverse13 asked me if I could tell you that after he went on hiatus the app won't let him log in, which is why he can't update his stories anymore. So if you've been reading his stories and wondered what happened that's the reason, and if you know anyone that has read his fanfics maybe you could tell them why he's stopped updating? Anyway, thanks so so much for reading, and take care!


	13. Sketchy evening plans

**Sketchy evening plans**

* * *

Alexander leaned back against Lafayette and put his legs over John's lap.  
"Alex!" John grumbled. "You're ruining my picture!"  
"Oh, sorry," Alexander said, keeping his legs still. "What are you drawing?"  
John gave him a shrug, and accidentally knocked his elbow into Hercules.  
"Hey!" The other guy complained.  
The four were as usual cramped together on their tiny sofa. They had planned on having a chill night in with a movie and snacks but they hadn't been able to decide on what to watch. Eventually John had grabbed his sketchbook instead, and the others had taken to doing absolutely nothing.

Hercules peered over John's shoulder at the newly drawn sketch, which depicted a man holding a cane. John used his free hand to push Hercules head out of the way.  
"Nooo let me see," Hercules whined.  
"No way," John said, imitating Hercules voice. The commotion sparked Alexander's curiosity, and he decided he had to see the picture himself.  
"That's nice," he said. "He kinda resembles Laf here."  
John squinted at his drawing, and then at the French boy. "I guess," he laughed.  
" _Dessinez-moi comme une de tes filles françaises_ ," Lafayette muttered as he leaned over Alexander to see his portrait.  
"I told you to quit the French!" John and Hercules said simultaneously, as Alexander started to laugh. "What did he said?" John demanded. Alexander just shook his head, unable to make a comprehensible sound.  
Hercules rolled his eyes and nicked a pen from John's case. "I believe Monsieur Lafayette here needs an upgrade," he said, staring straight at Lafayette as he added a flourishing moustache to John's drawing.  
"HERC!" John yelled as he snatched his block away and used it to repeatedly slap his friend. Hercules defended himself bravely, but had to succumb to the artist's wrath.  
"But it was such a nice touch," Alexander said sadly as he watched them. Then, before anyone could react, he grabbed an ink pen and gave the real Lafayette a matching mustache.  
" _Traître_!" Lafayette yelled. He jumped up and started to chase Alexander around the apartment. John and Hercules momentary stopped their fight to look, before John gave Hercules a final whack and jumped back onto the couch to claim the best spot.

When Alexander and Lafayette stopped their game of tag, and Alexander sported a brilliant ink moustache, they joined the other two back on the couch.  
"I can't believe you drew _that_ ," Alexander complained, looking at the cartoon drawing John had made of Lafayette giving Alexander his moustache. "You're supposed to be on my side!"  
"Aww, but you look stunning in a moustache," John said. After Alexander raised his eyebrows suggestively he warningly added, "Alexander Hamilton do _not_ grow a French moustache!"  
Alexander pouted.

Lafayette had seen their conversation as an opportunity to borrow John's sketchbook and draw himself draped across a piano with a rose in his mouth. Or more specifically he'd drawn a stickman, but it was helpfully labeled with "America's favorite Frenchman."  
"And all this time I thought John was the artistic genius," Hercules said driliy. "Clearly you've been hiding your true talent, Laf."  
Lafayette stuck his tongue out to him and added some biceps to his stickman. That, or he now had three heads, Alexander couldn't quite tell.

Clearly deciding that his sketchbook was now ruined John began to doodle some people in the corner opposite from Laf's masterpiece. Hercules took this as an invitation to draw as well and begun to add some elegant clothes John's designs.  
"I think you've missed something important," Lafayette commented after Hercules drew a ball gown. Without waiting for a reply he swiftly drew a top hat on the poor cartoon girl.  
"That," Alexander said. "Is a questionable fashion choice indeed."  
"What?" Lafayette asked indignantly. "It's what all the fancy people are wearing!"  
"Yeah sure," Hercule said. "And elephants wear ballet shoes."  
John snorted, and moved on to draw an elephant in an empty corner. Alexander thought it appropriate to join in too, and gave it a stunning tutu.  
"You know I bet that elephant could dance better than you," Hercules said to Lafayette with a smirk.  
Lafayette angrily mumbled something inaudible as colour stained his cheeks.  
"We had to do dance in PE," Hercules explained to the others. "And this idiot stepped on my toes _at least_ seven times."  
"It's not my fault your feet are so big!"

They kept up their doodling for a while. John filled the page with small cartoon people, mostly the four of them doing stuff. The other three filled the pages with… stuff. Sometimes it was possible to tell what the intended object had been, other times it wasn't.  
"You should draw the girls we met," Alexander said after he finished a vaguely turtle-shaped jumble of lines.  
"Or you could," John said as he discreetly tried to hide the small sketch he'd made of him and Alexander holding hands.  
"What a great idea," Alexander said, and drew two smiling stick figures. "Doesn't this resemble them a lot?"  
John rolled his eyes, but moved his hand to oblige to Alexander's request. The movement, however, left his previous sketch fully visible.  
"Aww," Lafayette cooed as he spotted it. "That's _adorable_ mon cher."  
John blushed furiously and hastily folded the page. Alexander felt a blush rise on his cheeks too, and a warm feeling started to spread through his chest.  
"Shut up," John muttered.  
"Oh look, poor Hamilton is blushing too," Hercules teased. "Maybe we should leave the lovebirds alone?"  
He got up and grabbed Lafayette's hand to pull the other boy with him. They both grinned as they walked away.  
" _Vous êtes les plus mignons_ ," Lafayette said with a wide smile before he disappeared from sight, causing both John and Alexander to flip him off.

Once they disappeared John hid his face behind his sketch book.  
"That was so embarrassing."  
Alexander just laughed. "But it was a really cute picture," he assured him, grabbing the other boy's hand for emphasis."  
"Thanks," John mumbled, and slowly lowered the book to show his face again.  
"I mean all your drawings are really good. Like, _all_ of them." Alexander said.  
John smiled gratefully. "Do you want to see them?" he asked a bit shyly.  
Alexander nodded eagerly and John handed him his precious sketch book. Then he leaned against Alexander's shoulder so they could watch the drawings together.

It wasn't long before John turned on his side and closed his eyes, allowing Alexander to marvel at his sketches in peace. As he flicked through the pages he absentmindedly let his free hand play with John's hair, enjoying the soft texture. Occasionally John opened his eyes to inserts comment about his drawings, but mostly they were quiet, enjoying the calm evening.  
Then Alexander turned on a page he recognized.

At first he didn't think too much about it, but then he saw the colour that began to bloom across John's cheeks, even as the boy's eyes stayed closed. The drawing was a loose sketch, but Alexander was quite sure that it was picture of himself. Not only that, but something about the position of it seemed vaguely familiar. Then it hit him.  
It was the very same page John had tried to hide from him the day he'd given him the stuffed turtled named George Shellton. Alexander couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face, and he softly closed John's sketch book and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.  
"You recognized it?" John whispered as he opened his eyes.  
Alexander nodded, and saw his own smile reflect in John's face. Without thinking, Alexander softly said, "I love you."  
And John smiled even brighter than before.  
"I love you too."

* * *

 _Dessinez-moi comme une de tes filles françaises  
_ Draw me like one of your French girls

 _Traître_!  
Traitor!

 _Vous êtes les plus mignons  
_ You two are the cutest

Hello! I thought I'd do a bit of a more chill chapter this time, so I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to tell me if you did (and if you didn't please tell me that too). Anyway I hope you're having a good day/ night, and take care!


	14. A thousand apples bake

**A thousand apples bake in a hundred degree heat**

* * *

John and Alexander came home at the same time, both of them soaking wet from the sudden downpour outside.  
"You look like a wet dog," Alexander joked as John shook the raindrops out of his hair.  
The other boy turned to him with his best puppy eyes.  
"Woof!"  
Alexander chuckled, and used his hands to shake the water from his own head.

"We're lucky we got home in time at least," John said.  
"Yeah," Alex agreed. They'd both been only a few yards away from their house when the sky had decided to open its floodgates. "But what about the other two?"  
"I don't know," John admitted as he threw himself down onto the sofa. "I haven't seen them since lunch, but they have classes on the other side of campus so I'm hardly surprised."  
"Same," Alexander said as he sat down on the couch's armrest. "They might still be in school then."  
John nodded and they were quiet for a while, until Alexander phone started ringing.  
"Oh it's Laf," he said before answering. "Yeah, hi?"  
"Hi," Lafayette said. "Are you home yet?"  
"Yeah me and John both, we got here before the rain started."  
"Well lucky you, we didn't so we're stuck here." The rain was audible over Lafayette's voice.  
"That sucks, where are you?"  
"Wrong end of campus, but Herc found a café so it's alright. We won't come home for a while though."  
"Right." Alexander waved a hand at John who was flailing his arms and whispering "What?" repeatedly.  
"Anyways I think that's− What? Oh yeah you're right."  
"Huh?"  
"Herc reminded me, do you see a big plastic bag in the kitchen?"  
"Um, yeah."  
"Great, it's full of apples."  
"What?!"  
"Long story, my teacher gave them to me."  
"I− why?"  
"She had too many, but anyhow I need you to make a pie of them."  
"You want us - John and I - to bake a pie?"  
"That rhymed Alex, and yup that's correct."  
"But..."  
"No butts, they'll go bad otherwise. I'll send you a recipe."  
"Laf wait−"  
"Good luck!" And with that he hung up.  
"We're baking a pie?" John asked.  
Alexander sighed deeply.  
"It seems so.

At least Laf sent them the promised recipe, along with some words of encouragement.  
"There is no way you'll be able to mess this up," John read.  
"Well that's reassuring," Alexander groaned. "So what do we need?"  
"Eh, butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon," John said as he scanned the recipe. "And apples!"  
"Yeah we've got that covered." Alexander nudged the gigant plastic bag with his foot.  
"How did he even get those?"  
"Beats me, he said his teacher gave them to him."  
John pinched the bridge of his nose. "How about we just get started."  
Alexander laughed. "Sure."

Making the dough went well, maybe because dumping equal parts butter, flour and sugar into a bowl isn't exactly that hardest task in the world.  
John proudly lifted the dough ball into the air. "It looks good!"  
"It does, and by the way you've got flour on your nose."  
John stuck out his tongue in an attempt to lick away the flour. As one might imagine this did not go too well.  
Alexander laughed and shook his head, before leaning over the counter to kiss his boyfriend's nose. However John chose that exact moment to tilt his head upwards, causing Alexander to miss his nose and kiss his lips instead.  
The baking took a momentary pause.

When they eventually resumed the cooking they got started on cutting the apples. Neither of them lost any fingers so Alexander figured that they'd done a good job.  
"So now we put this in a pan and pour some cinnamon over it?"  
"Think so," John answered. They stashed the apple slices into the pie form and dumped a bunch of sugar and cinnamon over it. Then they dumped the dough over all of it.  
"Don't you think we should put it on in some other way?" Alexander looked suspiciously at the pie.  
"Probably," John said, poking the thick ball of dough that sat atop the apples. "Maybe we should flatten it?"  
So they did, at least a little bit.

"Okay now we put it in the oven at 437 degrees for 25 minutes," John read. "Laf wrote to wait for it to turn golden brown."  
"Well let's do that then," Alexander said, opening the oven door. "Oh."  
"What is it?"  
Alexander pointed to the very cold, dark oven.  
"We forgot to turn it on didn't we?"  
"Yup."  
John groaned loudly. "Why are we so stupid?"  
"No idea."  
John straightened up and glared threateningly at the oven. "Maybe if I sit inside it, my hotness will heat it up."  
"You've stood next to it for half an hour and it's ice cold, maybe the oven has standards," Alexander smirked.  
"Or," John said. "I'm just too _cool_ for it."  
"One more of those puns and I'll _PUN_ ch you." Alexander warned.  
"But it was such a _sweet_ joke." John held up the sugar container and wiggled his eyebrows.  
Alexander threw the cinnamon at him.  
"How about you cinnaDON'T!"  
John blinked. Then he started laughing.  
"Alright alright, you win." He held his hands up in surrender.  
Alexander couldn't help but laugh too. "Of course I do."

"The house isn't burning, so I guess that's a start," Lafayette said as he walked in through the door. "But I don't see a pie either."  
Both John and Alexander looked up from where they lied on the couch.  
"It's still in the oven," Alexander answered.  
And of course the house isn't burning down, we're master bakers!" John added.  
"Right Laurens, is snuggling while baking part of the job to?" Hercules asked with a grin.  
"You're one to talk, Mr. Snogging-in-the-ferris-wheel!"  
Hercules rolled his eyes but didn't press the subject further.

Lafayette got the pie out and ordered the others to sit own at the table. Luckily he and Herc had bought ice cream on their way home, so they had something to eat with the pie.  
"Okay Laf, now tell us. How did you get the apples?" Alexander asked as he cut himself a slice.  
"Like I said, my teacher gave me them!"  
Alexander raised his eyebrows.  
"It's true! She has some apple trees and they gave her more fruit than she could eat so she brought them to class and made a lottery to see who would get them."  
The other three laughed, and set about eating the pie.

Even Lafayette had to admit that John and Alexander had done a good job.  
"But, I would have made it better!"  
"Sure, Laf, sure." Alexander answered.

* * *

Hi everyone! I hoped you enjoyed Lams baking, we've been having typical fall weather here lately so I thought it'd be appropriate to have them make an apple pie. Also, I've transferred this story to wattpad in case any of you prefer to read fanfics on there. I'll keep updating here of course but it's there too if that format is more enjoyable for you. I haven't finished moving all the chapters yet but I hope to get that done during the weekend. I fixed a couple of grammatical errors but nothing too big, however I did rewrite the last chapter in New roommates at 2 am. It's not a huge difference but when I re-read it I thought I could've written it better so I just thought I'd fix it. I have the same name on both sites if you want to check it out. Well, I hope you have a lovely week, and I want to say thank you again for reading this, because it honestly makes me so happy. Take care!

Ps. If you ever bake an apple pie, add some cardamom to it, it's absolutely delicious.


	15. Marshmallow night

**Marshmallow night**

* * *

"Alexander wait!"  
Alexander turned on his heel, quickly scanning the corridor in an attempt to find out who had yelled. His eyes swept over the crowd of students all milling about, but he didn't see any familiar faces.  
"There you are!" the same voice said.  
A girl emerged from the flock of people. She was dressed in jeans and a pink shirt and smiled warmly at Alexander. It finally clicked in his brain.  
"Angelica." He smiled back.  
"I'm so happy I finally found you, I've been looking for you all day."  
"Um, you have?"  
"Yeah. Eliza and I planned on having a campfire night and we wondered if you'd like to tag along." Angelica's eyes glittered. "You and the other three of course."  
"We– I, yeah sure. It sounds great!"  
"Sweet!" She flashed him a smile before giving him the directions to a camp site.  
"I'll see you at seven o'clock then!" Without another word she disappeared into the crowd of people.

"So this Anglica girl found you and invited us over to a campfire?" Lafayette said.  
"Pretty much," Alexander answered.  
"So we'll just go there?"  
"Guess so, she gave me the directions."  
John shrugged. "It sounds good to me, were we supposed to bring any food?"  
"She didn't say anything about it, but she didn't say _not_ to bring any."  
"Then I say we go for marshmallows!"  
"It works for me," Hercules said.  
John grinned widely.  
"Then off we go!" he decided.

"Laf!" John called from the candy aisle. "What type of marshmallows are we supposed to buy?" He was looking at the different candies with a combination of dread and confusion.  
The French boy rolled his eyes and went over to help his friend, leaving Alexander and Hercules to find wooden skewers all by themselves.  
"Surely finding a bag of marshmallows can't be that hard Laurens?"  
"But there's so many!" John complained and gestured towards the different bags. "How am I supposed to know which ones are good?"  
Lafayette heaved a sigh. "Sometimes I question if I'm living with regular people or just really tall babies. Look, you just take a packet of marshmallows, it's not space science."  
John threw his hands in the air and walked over to where the other two where looking at skewers.  
"And the expression is _rocket_ science!" he called back.

Wïth the power of teamwork (and an exasperated Lafayette) they eventually emerged from the store with all they needed. John and Alexander gave each other a victorious high five for this feat. Lafayette mumbled, "We bought _two_ things."

When they arrived at the site Angelica had directed them to the two girls were already there. Eliza spotted them first.  
"Hi!" She practically jumped up from where she was seated and bounded over to them. Angelica looked up from the fire she was tending and smiled brightly.  
"Hello," Laf said with a small wave.  
"It's great to see you again," Eliza said. "Oh you brought marshmallows!"  
"Yup." John held up the bag.  
"That's awesome," Angelica called. "Just let me get this fire going."

After making some polite small talk they got seated around the fire. It was a cozy place, with logs arranged around a small metal rack blackened by years of use.  
"So how did you discover this place?" Alexander asked.  
The two girls shared a look.  
"It's recommended in the student's guidebook," Angelica finally answered.  
"Right," Hercules nodded. He looked over at the other three. "Did any of _you_ read the guidebook?"  
"What guidebook?" Laf said.  
Angelica snorted.

"So how's classes going for everyone?" Alexander asked when the conversation started to die down. Eliza groaned.  
"Don't even get me started! I feel like I'm drowning in homework and all the while Angie here just sails through it like it's nothing! And all my professors keep nitpicking everything I do so I have to rewrite everything a hundred times over."  
Angelica put a hand over her sister's. "You're doing fine 'liza, you're putting too much pressure on yourself."  
Eliza laughed and smiled at her sister. "Don't worry sis, I'm fine." After seeing Angelica's look she added, "Really, I just like to complain about it."  
Lafayette laughed. "Yeah I know someone like that too."  
"Hey!" Hercules said, though his name had never been mentioned. Lafayette quirked his eyebrows in an "I said so" expression. Eliza giggled.  
"So what about you two," Angelica said and waved a skewer at John and Alexander.  
"I'm doing fine thanks," John said, putting his own marshmallow in the fire as he spoke. "As long as Alex here keeps proofreading my assignments I'll ace all my classes."  
The girls turned their attention to Alexander, who smiled embarrassedly.  
"I take it you're good at writing then, are you majoring in English?" Angelica asked.  
"Um, law actually but I'm minoring in english too."  
Angelica nodded understandingly and her eyes flashed with the same realization as they had done that night at the fair. It made Alexander feel… weird. Not bad, but he got the feeling that Angelica noticed _everything_. It felt as if she could see right into his soul. It was both thrilling and absolutely terrifying. He reached for John's hand and grasped it for a sense of safety.

"Oooh," Eliza said softly, turning Alexander's attention away from the sharp minded girl with the clever eyes. Eliza was looking at the sky, which was alight with the colours of the setting sun.  
"It's so pretty," she said wistfully. "I wish I could draw it."  
"Mmmhm," Alexander agreed, his attention caught on John, who was looking at the sky with the same dreamy expression. The blazing colours reflected in his eyes and made his hair look as if it was spun from molten bronze. Alexander's heart took a little leap in his chest.  
John tore his eyes away from the sunset and looked at Eliza in astonishment.  
"You like to draw?"  
She shrugged. "Yeah a bit, it's just a hobby though."  
"Oh come on, you're amazing. You should see the drawings she does, they're beautiful!" Angelica said and frowned disapprovingly at her sister.  
John nodded. "So what medium do you use?"

Eliza opened her mouth to answer and soon the two of them were engaged in a conversation that was so full of artsy terms that Alexander thought they might as well have spoken another language. Perhaps this was how John and Herc felt when Laf spoke French. Angelica just laughed.  
"Let's just leave them to it," she said. "I'll never understand what she's saying."  
Lafayette and Herc looked just as confused. Alexander didn't know what to say, so he roasted some more marshmallows.

"Alex stop it! You're touching my marshmallow!" John said angrily. He and Eliza had stopped reminiscing about the beautiful gradients of the evening sky and joined the others in their marshmallow roasting. Sadly it didn't seem to be enough space for all their skewers in the fire, and clearly Alexander was invading John's territory.  
"No _you_ are touching _my_ marshmallow," Alexander shot back.  
"Am not! John said and attempted to push away Alexander's stick. This however, only led to get their skewers stuck together.  
"Yes you are!" Soon the two of them were fighting a very serious, very sticky duel.  
"Are– are they always like this?" Angelica asked.  
"Yes." Hercules and Lafayette said in unison.  
A chorus of protests rose from the two skewer wielding fighters. For some reason this didn't seem to convince Angelica.  
"For some reason I'm more inclined to believe the people that aren't currently engaged in a marshmallows battle," she smirked.  
"Well maybe we'll change that," Alexander suggested and poked Lafayette's marshmallow. Which fell into the fire.  
" _Vous êtes monstre absolu!_ " the victimized boy yelled.

It wasn't long until all six of them were engaged in a very passionate and very messy skewer fight.

* * *

 _Vous êtes monstre absolu!  
_ You absolute monster!

Hello! I hope you liked this little meet-up with the Schuyler sisters. It was pretty fun to write (except for the part where I accidentally deleted a big part of it and had to rewrite it). But yeah, I hope you enjoyed it and thanks so much for reading. Take care!


	16. Wherefore art thou Hamilton?

**Wherefore art thou Hamilton**

* * *

"Guys can you help me with a thing?" Alexander asked.  
"Sure," John said as Lafayette groaned loudly. "What is it?"  
"If it requires me getting of this couch I will not be happy," Lafayette warned.  
Alexander rolled his eyes. "My english class is doing Romeo and Juliet tomorrow and my teacher wants me to fix the stage."  
"So you want us to help?" John said.  
Hercules smirked. "Are you playing Romeo and Juliet? I'm sure you'll make a stunning bride!"  
"Shut up, Mulligan! I'm not playing Juliet." Alexander glared at him. "I'm not even playing anyone, that's why I'm setting the stage."  
Hercules pouted sadly. "Well that's a disappointment."  
Alexander pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I'll just do this myself."  
"Oh come on guys, it'll be fun," John said enthusiastically. And Herc, you could always check out the costumes while we're there."  
Hercules didn't need much more convincing.

Alexander unlocked the heavy wooden door leading into the auditorium. Their little group fell silent as they entered, the air seemingly a bit heavier than it had been in the corridor. Alexander took a deep breath. He'd never really told anyone, but he loved the feel of being in a theater. It felt so special, somehow. Like the very air was full of all the stories that had been told on stage. It almost felt sacred.  
A loud bang cut through the deep silence.  
" _Merde!_ " Lafayette cursed.  
Something rustled loudly behind the stage curtain, followed by an annoyed groan. The four glanced at each other.  
"Should we, uh, check it out?" Hercules asked wearily.  
Lafayette shrugged, and almost dropped a load of plastic roses as he did so. Since none of the others seemed inclined to do anything, Alexander slowly placed his own box of props on the floor before taking a few cautionary steps onto the stage. And whatever was behind that curtain.

He'd walked all of four feet when the velvet fabrics were pulled aside and three people walked onto the stage.  
It was not the people Alexander had hoped to see.  
"What are _you_ doing here?" John asked in disbelief.  
"I could ask you the same question," Thomas Jefferson drawled.  
Alexander glared at him, and the two boys flanking him. " _I'm_ here to decorate the stage for the play tomorrow!"  
Jefferson's face fell. "But that's my– Oh."  
One of the boys behind Jefferson smiled lopsidedly. Alexander supposed he was Aaron Burr.  
"It seems that both of you were given the same task," the boy said.

His words drew Alexander's attention to the boxes the three were holding, which were full of stage decor similar to his own. It seemed that his teacher had an unusual sense of humor.

"But that's absurd!" Jefferson half-yelled.  
"For once I agree with you," ALexander said coldly.  
"But I thought you said there would be another person here to help you, Thomas," Burr said in a mild voice.  
"Yeah but not him! And certainly not those other people." He gestured to John, Hercules and Lafayette, who now walked onto the stage too.  
"Hey we have just as much right to be here as those two do!" John said angrily.  
Burr sighed, deeply. "Okay guys, look, I get that you don't like each other. Let's just get the stage done and then you never have to be in the same room again."  
"Yeah, at least not until their next English class," Hercules muttered.  
Burr glared at him.

At last they came to an agreement. Jefferson and his crew would stay on one side of the stage and prepare for the first scene, while the other four would decorate Juliet's balcony and the surrounding area. As soon as they had settled their tasks Burr immediately needed to show his friends something at the opposite side of the stage. Apparently it was very urgent.

"I don't think I've ever met such annoying people," Alexander muttered as they rummaged through their boxes for appropriate props. " _Especially_ that Jefferson guy."  
"You really don't like him do you?" John laughed as he helped Alexander untangle from a flower garland.  
"Nope."  
"It's a good thing neither of you are actually in the play, you'd kill each other for real," Hercules joked.  
"Probably," Alexander said with a smile. "At the very least I'd push him off the stage."  
"Two students, both alike in dignity, at fair King's college, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil stage unclean," Lafayette quoted. "It has a certain ring to it."  
Hercules nodded. "It does."  
"Did– did you memorize the entire prologue?" John said.  
Lafayette suddenly got very busy with arranging some fake vines. Alexander nudged him with a smirk.  
"Monsieur Love expert, huh? Memorizing the "Greatest love story ever told"?"  
"It was a dare okay!" Lafayette yelled in defense, his voice echoing across the auditorium. Ignoring the stares from the group on the stage's other half he pouted angrily. "You guys are bullies."  
Hercules gave his boyfriend's head a sympathetic pat. This didn't seem to improve Lafayette's mood.

John was standing on Juliet's balcony, ignoring the string of flowers Alexander was trying to throw up at him. Instead he looked out over the rows and rows of seats with a pained expression.  
"O Hamilton, Hamilton," he said wistfully. "Wherefore art thou Hamilton?"  
Alexander stopped his fruitless attempts to get the flowers to John and made a noise halfway between a cry and a laugh. Hercules and Lafayette opted for just laughing. Very much of it.  
"Why Laurens, why?" Alexander moaned with his face in his hands. "That might be the single most horrible thing I've ever heard"  
John jumped off the balcony and swung himself onto the stage.  
"Oh, why is that now? I thought Romeo and Juliet was the greatest love story ever told," he grinned.  
"It is, but, ugh," Alexander spluttered, finally removing his hands from his face.  
"Wow, you're blushing more than John usually does," Lafayette observed acutely.  
"Hey!"  
Lafayette held up his hands. "Just saying."  
John opened his mouth to say something more, but Jefferson chose that exact moment to do a very audible cough.  
"Because people think that this is the most epic tale of love ever told, but they are _so_ wrong." He said and glanced sideways at the four of them.  
Alexander saw this as an amazing opportunity to flee his incredibly embarrassing, but also kind of adorable, situation.

"Excuse you?" he said loudly. "Did you just say that Romeo and Juliet _isn't_ a love story?"  
Jefferson made a very elegant shrugging movement.  
"Well," he mused. "I can't deny it most certainly has romantic elements, but you couldn't possibly tell me that you think it's a tale of true love?"  
"Can't I? And why is that?" Alexander challenged as he walked over to the centermost part of the stage.  
"Oh please," the other boy said as he, too, walked across the stage. "The whole thing is just a play on a stupid teenage crush, showing people how not to behave. It's ridiculous that anyone would ever take it seriously."  
"What? Did you even read the script? The entire story shows the impact a single person can have on a larger scale and that true devotion will crush any obstacles!"  
"See I don't know what script you read, but we certainly didn't have the same."  
"No? Well maybe if you hadn't read some off-hand theory from Wikipedia then we would have."  
Jefferson rolled his eyes.  
"I didn't read anything off Wikipedia. You know the story, their "love" lasted like four days and seven people died. It's not exactly an ideal show of love is it?"  
John put a hand on Alexander's shoulder. "Debating the true meaning of love are you?" he said nonchalantly.  
"Maybe not," Alexander continued, feeling a strong urge to prove the other guy wrong. "But it's a play and you have to take that into consideration, you can't have it drag on for months on end. And the message still stands strong. Romeo was willing to throw away his reputation and honour for Juliet, what bigger sacrifice could he make?"  
"Yeah because throwing away your entire life to a girl you've just met is the definition of true love." Jefferson countered. Before Alexander could retort the boy to Jefferson's left sneezed violently.

The effect it had on Jefferson was almost shocking. He went from an arrogant smirking prick to a very concerned friend in a matter of seconds.  
"Oh God James, are you okay? Do you feel sick?"  
James shook his head. "I'm fine Thomas it's just the dust." He sneezed again. "I think I'm allergic."  
Jefferson glared at Alexander as if this was somehow his fault.  
"Maybe you should bring your dusty personality and arguments out of here, Hamilton."  
Alexander quirked an eyebrow.  
"Really? At least they're not as dusty as your decorating skills." He waved a hand at the surrounding decor. "Oh sorry, "not-skills" might be a better word."  
Jefferson blushed angrily.  
"You're an English major and the best you can come up with is "not-skills?"" he snarled. "Oh sorry I forgot, English _minor_."  
It was Alexander's turn to blush furiously.  
"Perhaps I have more important stuff to do. Like _major_ in law."  
"Oh look," Jefferson said and turned to his friends. Burr looked quite alarmed by this turn of events. "A dog of the class of law taunts me."  
"Or maybe what I'll do is bite my thumb at you!"  
Clearly getting bored by the debate Lafayette leaned over to Hercules and loudly whispered "Are they supposed to be insulting each other? 'Cause it sounds rather stupid to me."  
Burr smiled ever so slightly.

"Do you?" Jefferson asked, ignoring the comment and casually grabbing a sword that was leaning against the cardboard fountain. "Would you be prepared to duel on that?"  
Alexander blinked. But seeing the smirk that slowly spread across Jefferson's face filled him with new rage.  
"I'll fight you!" he exclaimed. Sadly there weren't any more swords in the stage door so he made do with the best he could find. Namely a plastic dagger.  
Alexander's three friends backed away to clear the stage, or duel ground if you would, leaving the two armed boys in the middle.  
Burr clearly saw this as his cue to step in.

"Okay okay okay," he said, taking as step from the side and in between the still smirking Jefferson and a rage filled Alexander. "We're still talking about Romeo and Juliet remember? It's not that serious." Seeing Alexander glare he added, "It's not like it's a case of your money or your life right?"  
None of the two boys lowered their weapons. Burr sighed deeply. Again.  
"Can't any of you make them see a little sense?" he asked John, Lafayette and Hercules.  
The three looked at each other with raised eyebrows.  
"Okay maybe not," Burr groaned. "Look I think the stage looks nice enough so if you'd just give me those–" He liberated Alexander and Jefferson from their plastic weapons, "then I think we can consider this job done."  
Jefferson opened his mouth to protest.  
"Thomas if we just go now I'll let you cook mac 'n cheese the rest of the week without complaining."  
With a last glare at Alexander Jefferson slung his arm around a no longer sneezing James and unceremoniously left the stage.

"Well that escalated- and descalated- quickly," Hercules laughed when their neighbours had gone.  
"Indeed," Lafayette agreed.  
"You okay Alex?" John asked.  
"What? Yeah I'm fine. I just really hate that guy."  
"I can understand that," John said as he took Alex's hand. "It would have been epic if you'd actually had a duel."  
Lafayette snorted. "Yeah, with a styrofoam sword and a plastic dagger."  
"Shut up," Alexander grinned. He felt his nerves calm down a bit now that he was no longer in fight mode. Even he had to admit that the situation had be a tad bit ridiculous. But if he _ever_ backed down from a chance to debate Thomas Jefferson–  
"How about we just go back home?" Hercules suggested. "I'd say we've done a pretty good job here."  
He was right, the stage actually looked quite decent. Surprisingly enough.  
"Yeah let's go," John said.

* * *

Hello! As always, I hoped you liked this chapter. My class is currently studying Romeo and Juliet so I just had the idea of what if the Hamilton crew did it. And I guess me writing this counts as studying the play right? Anyways, thanks so so much for reading, have a great day, and take care!


	17. A terrible casting decision

**A terrible casting decision**

* * *

The four boys once again walked down the corridor to the school's auditorium.  
"Do you think we'll have any epic shouting matches or duels this time?" John joked.  
"I'd hope not, but I'm not too sure," Hercules laughed.  
With only half an hour before the play was set to begin it did seem unlikely that such events would occur, but maybe Herc was right. You could never know.  
Alexander chuckled along with his friends. He was actually really excited for the night. Even though he wasn't preforming he'd still put a great deal of work into the show. And translating all that Shakespearean English into something readable… Let's just say he was glad all the work as done.

"So how about you guys go and find some seats, and I'll go backstage." Alexander said when they reached the auditorium. Students were milling about everywhere, some of them in costumes.  
"Hang on," Lafayette said. "I thought you weren't doing any acting?"  
"I'm not, but they're gonna present everyone who worked on it and–" He cut off as a woman came running down the corridor.  
"Alexander! Thank heaven I found you!"  
"Everything alright, miss Faucette? I thought I was supposed to meet you backstage?"  
"Yes, yes, you were," Alexander's English teacher stopped to catch her breath. "But you know Juliet's lines right?"  
Alexander looked confused.  
"Well yeah, I wrote most of them so I think so. Did Catharine forget them again?" he asked.  
Miss Faucette shook her head. "Catharine has caught a cold, she won't be performing tonight. I need you to fill her place."  
"WHAT!?"  
"I'm sorry, I know this is all a bit last minute but I really have no other choice," his teacher quickly apologized. "But both she and our Romeo called in sick so I have to find two new replacements with," she paused to check her watch, "about twenty minutes until the play starts."  
Alexander looked terrified.  
"But miss, you can't want _me_ to play Juliet, surely?" His voice rose an octave.  
"I'm sorry Alexander, but I do. Now if you'd be so kind to get in costume, it's down the corridor and to the left. I'm sure you are familiar with the surroundings." And with that she hurried back down the hallway, leaving Alex looking to his friends for support.  
"You'll be great Alex, just go," John encouraged him.  
Behind him Hercules and Lafayette nodded along, both trying to conceal giggling. John gave them a withering glare just as the first bell went off.  
Alexander ran.

Alexander cursed loudly and vividly as he looked around the costume rack for Juliet's dress. Why did Catharine have to go and get sick _today_? He glared angrily at the light blue dress he'd have to wear. It even had accompanying angel wings. This was not fair.  
As he pulled the dress over his head he tried to mentally revise his lines. He knew that Juliet entered the play at the party where she'd meet Romeo. It was lucky that the scene was actually quite a bit into the play, so at least he had some time to get ready. Maybe he would get a chance to read over the script a couple of times too. Alexander caught himself thinking that it'd be embarrassing if he forgot his lines, but then he remembered that he was walking onstage in a dress with angels wings. At least that realization made him stop worrying about his lines.  
Just as he was about to leave the dressing room he spotted his reflection in a mirror. The costume actually fit him quite well, Alexander thought as he critically examined it. It was a blessing that he and Cathy were almost the same height. With a sigh at his own reflection Alexander turned and walked out, mentally preparing himself for the night to come. His angel wings fluttered merrily behind him.

From where he stood in the shadows Alexander had a clear view of the stage floor. The people preforming were doing quite a good job and everything seemed to go smoothly, so hopefully things would continue that way. All he had to do was go in, say a few lines, and go out. It would be easy. Alexander swallowed hard and walked out onto the stage. Instinctively he scanned the audience for his friends, but it was too dark for him to make out their faces. Instead he forced himself to walk around leisurely, trying his best to look like he was simply enjoying a party. And like he wasn't about to trip in this infernal dress.  
Suddenly he felt someone take his hand, and heard what he recognized as Romeo's lines. With a polite smile he turned towards whoever was playing his undying love, and for the second time in two days he was met with an unexpected face.  
Thomas Jefferson's.

Jefferson stuttered on his lines as he recognized Alexander, but manage to cover it up with a cough. Alexander suddenly became _very_ aware of the fact that he was still holding the other boy's hand.  
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong," Alexander managed to choke out. Seizing the opportunity he quickly snatched his hand away and hid it behind his back. Jefferson subtly wiped his own palm on his trousers.  
"Don't saints and pilgrims have lips too?" he asked, continuing his lines even though he was glaring at Alexander. Alexander glared back.  
"Yes, pilgrim— they have lips that they're supposed to pray with." Alexander answered, wishing desperately for this to be over. Unfortunately, as he had written large portions of the stage directions he knew it wasn't over yet. They still had a kiss left.  
"Then don't move while I act out my prayer." Jefferson concluded. Before Alexander had the time to react or think of a way out Thomas grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him behind a conveniently placed curtain, obscuring the audience's view of them.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Jefferson whisper angrily as he covered his mic with his hands.  
"I'd ask you the same thing," Alexander whispered back. "But I'm smart enough to realize that you're obviously the stand-in for the guy that was supposed to play Romeo."  
"What an acute observation. I did not sign up for playing with _you_ as Juliet!"  
"The feeling's mutual," Alexander sneered.  
Jefferson opened his mouth, but was interrupted by approaching footsteps. As the curtain was pulled away and they were left in the spotlight a silent agreement passed between them.  
They would have to play it off.

When Alexander stepped out onto Juliet's balcony he couldn't help but remember the little stunt John had pulled just last day. He might have said it was the worst thing he'd ever heard, but Alexander had to admit that it had been kind of sweet. And now that he had to speak those same words, to Jefferson of all people...  
Sweet Jesus.  
"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Alexander sighed with as much heartbreak as he could muster. He could feel the audience's attention on him as the lights turned to him, and he allowed himself one full second of enjoying the feeling before he continued.  
"Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love." Below his balcony he could hear Jefferson moving, and Alexander privately wondered if it would be possible to switch the word "love" for "hate". He didn't think his teacher would be amused.

As the scene progress Alexander silently cursed himself for taking some liberty with the original script. He'd known the balcony scene was the one everyone would be waiting for, so his class had thought they should make it extra special. And what better way to do that then with an epically romantic scene? It had seemed like such a great idea, he just hadn't thought he would be the one to act it out.  
Alexander kept a very close eye on the hem of his dress as he carefully walked down the stairs from his balcony. The music slowed to a soft background noise that was barely audible. As he approached Jefferson he fully realised the gravity of the situation. The room was dead quiet, with everyone anticipating what was to come. The stage was empty, and there was absolutely nothing to hide behind. Alexander had written himself into a corner.

With five steps left to Jefferson, Alexander could only hope that the other boy knew how to do a stage kiss.  
With four steps left Jefferson smiled warmly at his soon-to-be bride, panic in his eyes.  
With three steps left Alexander tripped on his dress.

He fell forward ungracefully, arms outstreched in a desperate attempt to stop himself from slamming into the stage. And he didn't. Instead, he slammed into Jefferson.  
As the two collided their lips crashed against each other. They both flailed helplessly as they tried to regain their balance, but to stop himself from falling backwards Jefferson was forced to grab hold of Alexander's shoulders, making the kiss last even longer  
The two finally regained their footing, and stared at each other in horror.  
"I'll see you by morrow," Jefferson managed to croak out. Then he turned and fled from the stage.  
Alexander followed right after.

The moment they were out of sight they both frantically wiped their mouths on their hands.  
"I can't believe you fucking _kissed_ me," Jefferson spluttered.  
"Don't flatter yourself, I tripped!"  
"Yeah sure." The other boy was still furiously wiping his lips.  
"You're a huge, arrogant asshole!"  
"Well you're a huger– bigger asshole!"  
Alexander snorted. "So much for majoring in English huh?"  
"Shut up!" Jefferson glared at him.  
"I'm so glad I'll be sleeping for the last scene, at least I won't have to look at you."  
"It's too bad I'll have to see your ugly face the whole time, Hamilton."  
Alexander would have retorted, but a look from another student told him their argument was already too loud. He resorted to giving Jefferson his middle finger.

The final bow was a nightmare. They had to hold hands.  
"Okay, so we're doing this," Alexander said through gritted teeth. Jefferson wordlessly took his hand and started straight out into the auditorium. As he had few other options Alexander did too, and he finally, _finally_ spotted his friends. The three were applauding vigorously which made the look a bit like extremely happy toddlers. Alexander had to hold back a laugh.  
"Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton," Miss Faucette called. "As Romeo and Juliet!"  
The audince cheered and the two walked forward to take their bow, their linked hands incredibly visible.  
Lafayette wolf-whistled loudly.  
Laughter erupted throughout the audience, who started cheering even louder. Out of the corner of his eye Alexander could see Jefferson grit his teeth, but neither of them could do anything but bow.  
Then the two fled offstage.

As soon as he'd changed clothes Alexander found his friends. Or more truthfully the three of them found him, and essentially attacked him.  
"That was brilliant!" Hercules yelled, laughing so hard he was doubling over.  
"It's the best thing I've ever seen," Lafayette added, tears basically streaming down his face.  
John was clapping his hands as he laughed, which made him look like a drunken seal.  
"It was the best version of Romeo and Juliet ever," he finally managed to choke out.  
"I told you you'd make a stunning Juliet didn't I?" Hercules said.  
Alexander glared at them.  
"I hate you all," he said as coldly as humanly possible. Then he pointed at Laf. " _Especially_ you."  
Lafayette lifted his hands in defence. "Just thought the couple of the year deserves some attention."  
"Uhuh," Hercules added with a smirk. "Looks like you've got some competition Laurens."  
"I. Hate. You. All."  
"No you don't," Lafayette grinned.  
"I do!"  
John puts his arms around his pouting boyfriend, his laughter vibrating through Alexander.  
"It's a good thing I love you then," he whispered. "And you made a gorgeous Juliet."

* * *

Guess who's back? Me (well, obviously). I hope you don't mind me continuing the Romeo and Juliet thing from the last chapter, it was hilarious to write so I thought it deserved a part two. On another note I want to say how enormously grateful I am for all the messages and reviews I've gotten. I know I say this after pretty much every chapter, and I don't want to make it sound like I'm begging for reviews, so don't feel like you have to leave one. I just want to tell everyone know that I am so so happy that you choose to spend time on reading my story, it means enormously much to me. I think it's so cool that I get to share this little world with other people (also, shout out to Lin for making this possible in the first place.) Thank you so much guys, and take care!


	18. Dressing to the occasion

**Dressing to the occasion**

* * *

Alexander, John, Hercules and Lafayette stepped inside the shopping mall. They were surrounded by stores on all sides, and the shop windows called for their attention. Everything imaginable was being sold in here, from clothes to books to makeup. Lafayette cracked his knuckles.  
"Let's go."

The reason the four were at the shopping mall was very simple. Hercules had wandered into John's room just an hour earlier, and in an attempt to get John's attention he'd walked up to the boy's writing desk. Unfortunately for Hercules John had been painting, and as Hercules leaned over the desk he'd knocked over a glass of paint-stained water. And spilled all over himself.  
Lafayette and Alexander had run into the room after hearing Herc's defeated screams and discovered the utterly drenched boy.  
"My shirt," Hercules had wailed. "Look at my shirt!"  
"Yeah that's ruined," Lafayette had said.  
"But it was my last grey sweater!"  
Alexander, being the voice of reason, had stated the obvious. "So buy a new one then."  
And that was how they'd all ended up at the shopping mall. Because, as John'd pointed out, it was completely necessary to bring four people to the mall in order to buy one shirt.

"So which store do we start with?" John asked.  
Hercules looked around before pointing. "That one."  
"Okay," Lafayette said. "For any particular reason or..?"  
"Yeah the mannequins aren't wearing pink dresses."  
"But I bet you'd look great in them, "Alexander smirked.  
"Almost as good as you looked in that blue dress," John chimed in.  
"Go to hell Laurens."  
"Nah, but I will go into that store," John grinned happily. Ignoring Alexander's death glare he took the boy's hand and pulled him with him. Alexander was pretty sure the entire story could hear his sigh as he let himself be dragged along.

Lafayette turned away from the mirror with a dramatic spin.  
"How do I look?"  
He was wearing a swooping black hat which left his face concealed in shadows. He took a graceful bow, which made the hat flap dangerously. Hercules snorted.  
"You look like a vampire haunting a theater."  
"Hey! I'm totally classy!" Lafayette turned to the mirror and gestured towards his hat. "Look, it's both elegant and timeless."  
Alexander laughed. "You look like you're about to lie down in a pile of leaves for the aesthetic."  
"And caption it with some edgy song lyric," John added.  
"None of you understand fashion." Lafayette complained as he tore the hat of his head. "This is a beautiful hat!"  
"Are– are you telling the guy who's is literally designing fashion as a job that he doesn't understand fashion?" Alexander said.  
There was a moment of silence as Lafayette looked Hercules up and down. Then:  
"Yes."

They left the store without buying anything, as Hercules couldn't find a sweater and Lafayette finally gave up on his dream of become a vampire. They browsed through a bunch of other stores instead, occasionally looking at sweaters and more frequently trying on stupid accessories. It was during one of the rare moments when they were seriously trying to find Hercules a shirt that Alexander spotted something perfect.  
It was a brown coat with a felted outside and the coziest hood Alexander had ever seen. Unable to resist it's charm Alexander tried it on, and was immediately engulfed in a mass of warm, thick fabric. It was probably the softest jacked he had ever worn, even though it kind of swallowed him whole. He was clearly being discriminated against for his lean frame.  
As he stood in the aisle and tried to decide whether or not to purchase the coat he spotted his three friends again. Since it didn't seem like he could come to a decision on his own Alexander figured that he might as well ask them for advice. Though he was certainly going to take anything Lafayette said with a grain of salt.

"Hey guys!"  
The three stopped examining sweatshirts and turned in his direction.  
"Oh there you are," John said, looking him over. "Nice coat, are you buying it?"  
"I don't know, I can't decide. What do you guys think?"  
Lafayette made a thoughtful face. Then he walked around Alexander, inspecting him closely.  
"Alexander Hamilton," he mused. "Or 5000 cats in a trenchcoat? The world may never know."  
John pursed his lips tightly together before breaking down in laughter. Hercules followed his example and soon the three of them were reduced to a giggling mess. Lafayette smirked triumphantly.  
"I asked a serious question, and instead I get accused of being made of cats," Alexander groaned. "This is why we can't have nice things!"  
Hercules made a brave attempt at recomposing himself, and critically examined his friend. "It looks nice, actually."  
"Yeah you should totally buy it," John said, his face red from laughing. "How much does it cost?"  
Alexander shrugged and took it off to check the price.  
"I can't find it."  
"It's gotta have price tag" Lafayette said. "Give it to me." Alexander reluctantly handed him the coat.  
"Oh it is really soft," Lafayette said, running his hands over the coat as he searched for the price tag. "If you don't buy it I will."  
"French boy or a really large baguette in a trenchcoat?" John muttered. "Scientists can't agree."  
Lafayette rolled his eyes. "You are– Oh here it is Alex."  
He lifted the small paper rectangle to check the price, and his eyes widened slightly. Without a word he passed the coat to Alexander who, somewhat confused, looked at the price tag.  
" _120 dollars!_ " Alexander choked. He quickly grabbed the nearest hanger and stuffed the coat back onto the rack. "Uh, after some more careful thought I don't think I want it."  
John smirked. " _Or_ you're just a broke college student."  
"Hey, do you know how many pizzas you could get for 120 bucks? How many coffees?"  
"I guess you're right."  
"Exactly."  
Hercules chuckled softly. "You two are the biggest nerds, honestly."

Herc finally managed to find a sweatshirt he liked, and so they decided they were done with their little shopping trip.  
"So in conclusion it took us three hours to buy a sweater," John laughed as they exited the store. "That's almost impressive."  
"Yup," Lafayette said as he eyed a café near the mall's entrance. "How about we add onto that time by getting a snack?"  
Of course none of them could argue against him, and so they bought muffins to bring with them. Because let's face it, it was a long walk to the closest bus stop.

"Someone please explain to me how it is that we left just after lunch and now the sun is already setting?" Lafayette said in between bites of muffin.  
"Maybe because you spent an hour trying to decide if you should get that stupid hat," Hercules said.  
"Or because _you_ were unable to pick a sweater, mon amour."  
Alexander snorted. "Or because it's basically winter and the sun doesn't want to stay up past four p.m."  
"Nah," Lafayette said. "It think it's Herc's fault."  
Alexander shrugged and took a bite of his muffin.  
"Also you have cake all over your face."  
"I don't!" Alexander hastily wiped his face, erasing any evidence.  
John grinned. "I don't know about you Alex, but I usually eat with my mouth."  
Alexander had to admit that it would've been a good line, had it not been for the fact that John currently had crumbs all over his face too. Hercules seemed to think the same thing.  
"Sure you do Laurens."  
John looked shocked.  
"What do you mean? What else would I eat with?" Then, realisation hit him and he slowly raised a hand to his mouth.  
"Damnit."  
Alexander laughed and threw an arm around his boyfriend. "It's okay John, we can't all be muffin eating experts."  
John glared angrily at him. He probably would've said something too, but Lafayette spotted their bus and they all broke into a dead sprint to catch it.  
It had been a good shopping trip.

* * *

Hello! I'm sorry it's been so long since I uploaded. I really struggled with writing this chapter for some reason, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up quicker because I have an idea I'm really excited for. Thanks a ton for reading, and take care!


	19. The Halloween party

**The Halloween party**

* * *

"Are we ready?"  
"Sure as all hell Laf."  
Alexander straightened the ruffles on his shirt as he said so. The four were huddled together in front of the only full body mirror in their dorm, making the final touches to their costumes.  
"It's at times like this I almost wish Ii was born in the seventeen hundreds," John said wistfully as he examined his reflection.  
"What, you wish you were shot to death?" Alexander asked.  
"Well no, but I like the coat. It has style."  
"Despite the blood stains?"  
"Despite the blood stains."  
Hercules' lips twitched into a small pleased smile. And as the maker of said coat he probably had all right to be. The four looked stunning.

They were dressing up for the Halloween party they were soon to attend, which was supposedly the biggest event of the fall. Invitations had been mailed out to a large portion of the student body and it was the only thing that had been talked about for the last week. The hosting group of seniors had somehow managed to clear out an entire dorm building just to house this party. Alexander had no idea who they'd blackmailed to succeed in this, but he was not going to complain. If this party was half of what it had been hyped up to be it would be the coolest thing he'd ever go to.

"Should we leave?" John asked, tearing Alexander away from his daydreaming. "It's almost eleven o' clock."  
"Which means we have a full eleven minutes to get there," Lafayette grinned. "But sure."  
Alexander threw a last glance into the mirror. They matched perfectly, which was good as they had gone for a group costume. Sure it was a bit nerdy, but it was also epic. It had been Hercules' idea of course. The guy had researched old military uniforms for some design project, and blurted out the idea over dinner one night.  
"How about we go as fallen soldiers for halloween?"  
And so it came that the four of them were dressed in bloody uniforms from the Revolutionary War. They hadn't been able to find any age-appropriate guns, so instead they'd tried to look like they'd been shot by some. Lafayette sported a spectacular wound to the head, which was dripping blood down his face. Hercules had smeared the same substance all over the front of his shirt, much the same as Alexander who'd made a smaller, but all the more splattered, wound between his ribs. John had gone all out and had his killing shot go from his hip all the way to his arm, as well as adding deep gashes all over his torso. Because as he said himself, "If I have to die I'll go down fighting."  
All in all, as they walked out into the halloween night to the sound of a distant church bell, they certainly looked like the fallen soldiers of a past war. And they would make damn sure their service was not forgotten.

"I was about to ask how we'd know if we were at the right house but I think that gives it away," Hercules said and gestured towards the ominous lanterns that popped up on the ground. Indeed, the candles led straight to to the porch of one of the nearby buildings.  
"Yeah, that or the fact the all the windows are mysteriously covered," Alexander pointed out.  
"I guess," Hercules said as they begun to walk along the illuminated path, which somehow seemed a lot creepier than it had any right to be. Somewhere in the distance an owl cried. Alexander shuddered.  
"Are those real claw marks," Lafayette said in horror when they reached the front of the house. The door was cover in deep gashes, as if a wolf had dragged its paws down the wood. The full moon cast its light over the grooves which made them seem even deeper.  
Alexande laughed softly. "Are you asking if an actual werewolf attacked the door?"  
"No you idiot, I'm asking if they actually carved up the door!"  
"Huh, I don't know. Maybe."  
"Vandalism fees–" John murmured, "the true horror."  
Hercules, chuckling, pushed open the scarred door and stepped inside.

It was dark inside. Heavy shadows hung from the walls, as if fabrics had been draped across them. Alexander took a weary step forward and felt his boots sink into a thick carpet. The door swung shut behind him. Without the light of the moon the hall was pitch black.  
"Uh, do we, um..." John's voice trailed off, fading into the silence that was spreading throughout the room. Alexander got a feeling that something was very, very wrong.  
He reached for John's hand in an attempt to calm down, but the dark made it impossible to find him. He felt his way around, fighting against the panic rising in his stomach. His fingers finally grazed against a hand and he grasped it in relief. A hand that was very cold and very much not John's.  
Lafayette screamed.  
Lights flared up around them, illuminating the room.  
Bent over them stood a skeleton maid with a wicked grin. She had one hand resting on Lafayette's shoulder, explaining his scream. Alexander was clutching her other.  
"This way, my dears," She crowed as Alexander snatched his hand back. She gestured up a narrow staircase adorned with skulls.  
"You don't want to leave them waiting." Her order turned into a high pitched laugh, revealing missing and yellowed teeth. The boys did the one sensible thing, they ran up the stairs.

As soon as they reached the top floor Lafayette slumped against the wall and let out a long string of curse words.  
"That surely is the best introduction to a halloween party I've ever experienced," Hercules concluded when Laf was done.  
"And the worst." John said, with Alexander nodding along. "Let's find something that's less likely to give us a heart attack."  
They took his advice and walked down the corridor the stairs had led up to. Though wickedly decorated it didn't give off the feeling that you were about to be murdered, with Alexander appreciated. At the hall's end was an open door from which the sound of loud music and laughter poured out.  
Lafayette straightened his shirt and grinned.  
"Let's party!"

The open dorm acted as a dance floor, apparently. The main space had been cleared out in favour of the dozens of people currently dancing various dances, some in rhythm, some not. If the sounds coming from the other rooms were anything to go by then this wasn't the only dorm open to visitors, and Alexander could see more than one bowl filled with unidentified liquids.  
"Where do we start?" Hercules half yelled over the music. The lights hidden in the apartment showered his face in red light.  
"Let's get a drink!" John called back. No one argued.  
The four snuck their way into and adjacent dorm which seemed to be the main room for foods. They found a big bowl filled with some sort of neonic green liquid and filled their red cups with it.  
"Cheers!" Lafayette said.  
"Cheers!"

"Well look who we have here," said a voice behind them.  
Alexander turned and quickly swallowed his drink, which violently burned his throat. Whatever had been in that punch had been strong.  
"Hi Angelica," Laf smiled.  
Angelica grinned at him, revealing pointed fangs. If Alexander had thought his friends had put a lot of work into their costumes then Angelica wasn't far behind. She was dressed in a stunning black and red dress in victorian style. The heavy material clung tightly to her bodice and swooped down in an elegant black skirt and drooping lace sleeves. Her hair was pulled up in a complicated braidwork and adorned by a shimmering black diadem. It's gems matched her lips, which were painted bold red and were accentuated by the heavy gold makeup around her eyes. As if that weren't enough her irises, normally dark brown, were brilliantly red. She looked both terrifying and beautiful.  
"I see you took the costumes seriously," she said after looking them up and down. "The war seems to have taken it's toll on you."  
Hercules beamed.  
"Well, we can't all be pretty ladies haunting castles," Lafayette said with a wink.  
"Oh I'd much rather be haunting the dance floor," Angelica answered with a quick glance towards Alexander. "But alas, my sister found it quite too cramped."  
"Talking about me behind my back are you?"  
A shadowed figured emerged from an adjacent door, and Alexander almost spilled the remainder of his drink. Had it not been for Angelica he would have never guessed that this person was Eliza. Maybe it was the dim lights, but as she drew near her skin took on an ashy, almost decaying tone. She wore a simple white dress and her face was almost fully covered by a sheer veil. The thin fabric was attached to her head with an exquisite diadem, much more elegant than Angelica's. In her hands she clutched a bouquet of wilting roses, bound together by spider webs. The overall effect was quite startling.  
Anglica smirked, clearly noticing the dramatic effect of her sisters entrance.  
"May I introduce to you, The Bride of Death."

After a short conversation with the two girls the group decided to head back to the dance room.  
"But I think you should leave that here," Hercules laughed as he took John's almost empty cup from him.  
"Hey!"  
Hercules glanced at Angelica and Eliza. "John get's drunk way too easily."  
"I don't!"  
Lafayette coughed pointedly. "I beg to differ, mon ami."  
"I haven't even finished one drink yet!"  
Hercules smirked. "Ad that's probably for the best too. Come on now, you can get more later."  
John groaned, but followed the rest out of the room.

The dance floor was just as loud as Alexander remembered it, and full of people. Everybody was dancing and cheering, and the atmosphere was almost intoxicating. It was as if the music was pulling people in, ensnaring them and causing their bodies to move.  
"You said you'd rather haunt the dance floor, would you do me the honour?" Lafayette half yelled at Anglica.  
She smiled, her fangs catching the light.  
"It would be my pleasure."  
Lafayette led her out onto the floor, and soon they were spinning around. Angelicas skirt flared up as she took the steps with ease. They looked like ever the perfect couple, the stunning victorian vampiress and her fallen soldier.  
Hercules snorted.  
"Laf can't dance for shit, just wait until he falls."  
But his words fell on deaf ears, as Lafayette continued taking flawless step after flawless step. Maybe it was Angelica's skill keeping him upright, or maybe the drink he'd downed helped, but the two continued their hypnotizing dance without fail.

John nudged Alexander with his elbow.  
"Care to dance?" he said nonchalantly. Alexander decided to be tactful and ignore the blush that was creeping over the other boys cheeks.  
"Sure."  
Hercules groaned. "Everybody's leaving us," he complained to Eliza.  
She laughed. "They are."  
"Well since neither of our friends seem willing to keep us company," Hercules continued with a nod towards Laf and Angelica, "would you care to dance with me?" He offered his arm.  
"Oh." Even through her veil Alexander could see the shocked expression on Eliza's face. "I'd love to." Then she seemed to remember herself. "Won't Lafayette mind though?"  
Hercules chuckled warmly.  
"Nah. Also he doesn't really get to be jealous since he's dancing himself. And before you ask I don't mind him dancing with your sister either, if he's gonna make a fool of himself it's nice that I'm not pulled with him in the fall." He again gestured to his boyfriend, who chose that moment to trip over thin air.  
Eliza giggled and grasped Hercules arm, following the others onto the dance floor.

John and Alexander was spinning around the room, feeling the energy of the music coursing through them with every beat. Alexander had a sneaking suspicion that it might also be the drinks taking effect, but he didn't care. Not when he was pressed this close to John and they were moving together, two bodies in perfect rhythm to the sounds flowing out of the speakers. They were so close that Alexander could see each individual speck in his boyfriend's eyes, which shone green in the lights. John's face was flushed with color, his lips slightly parted as he gasped for air. His soft lips, only inches away from Alexnader's.  
The distance seemed way too long.  
Alexander decided to do something about it.

John's lips pressed against Alexander's and the two almost stopped their dance. But John, through luck or skill, managed to spin them into an empty hallway. Which was good, as Alexander immediately lost all thoughts of self control.  
He dug his hands into the other boys hair and couldn't help the soft moan that escaped from between his lips. He could feel John smile slightly against his mouth as he pulled him closer against him. John's lips were sweet, like a better version of their drinks. It was as if Alexander couldn't get close enough. Just as the thought passed through his brain John grabbed the ruffles of his shirt and cupped his neck, pressing their faces further together. The taste of his boyfriend filled Alexander's mouth and he felt dizzy, he was swimming in happiness, the world faded to a meaningless blur.  
The kiss broke way too soon.

"Oh sorry," a drunken zombie giggled as she crashed into them. "Don't let me interrupt you"  
John sighed as the girl stumbled away.  
"A bit too late for that, dude."  
Alexander blinked in an attempt to clear his head. He could still feel the taste of John lingering on his lips.  
"So should we, er, get back?" he finally said.  
John looked out into the main room, where the music was still beating.  
"Yeah probably."

"There you are!" Hercules waved at them from across the room. John and Alexander pushed through a couple of crowds before managing to reach their friends. Hercule and Lafayette were talking to Eliza, the three of them clearly done with dancing. Hercules' and Lafayette's hands were grasped tightly together. Alexander smirked subtly. He knew Hercules had meant what he said about not minding Laf dancing with Angelica, but he also knew the guy got jealous easily. Not that he'd ever admit it of course. Alexander didn't think he even admitted it to himself.  
Eliza smiled at them when they walked over, she'd lost her veil somewhere and here eyes sparkled warmly. "I was just wondering where you'd gone, we thought that creepy maid might've kidnapped you."  
Laf and Hercules chuckled, and John and Alexander shared a panicked glance.  
"We were just, eh–"  
"We went to grab some snacks!" Alexander hastily concluded.  
Laf and Eliza nodded, but Hercules raised his eyebrows and nodded subtly to Alexander's shirt. Under the pretense of straightening Alexander's collar he leaned in to whisper, "I made that shirt with my very own hands, Hamilton. And those ruffles have _very_ clearly been disturbed. You two did not go to find food." Then he straightened up and gave Alexander an insufferable smirk.  
Alexander ignored both Hercules and his own blushing face.

"So what are we doing now?" John asked after a few minutes of mindless conversation.  
"Yeah about that," Lafayette said with a half-smile and inclined his head to Eliza. "The two miss Schuyler's have been kind enough to invite us over to their dorm for some after partying. Eliza says that they have candy."  
"Probably enough to feed a stable of horses," Eliza smiled. "Or, maybe just enough to feed four teenage boys."  
"Wow," John said. "We don't eat _that_ much."  
"I remember someone clearing of an entire packet of oreos just yesterday. _My_ packet." Lafayette said drily.  
"That wasn't me!"  
"Really."  
"Alexander helped."  
"Don't drag me into trouble!"  
Eliza smirked. "Case proven."  
"Honestly guys," Hercules chuckled. "But we're just waiting for Angelica then?"  
"Yeah, unless anyone wants to do something else first?" Eliza said.  
"I'm fine," Hercules continued. "But maybe John and Alexander wants to grab some more snacks?" He gave Alexander a small smile, eyes twinkling.  
"We're fine." Alexander glared at his friend.  
"Okay.." John said, watching the exchange between the two. "So where's your sister?"  
Eliza shrugged. "She went to grab another drink, but that was over ten minutes ago." Her eyes drifted across the room as she spoke. Suddenly she stopped at something. "I think I found her."  
Alexander followed Eliza's stare and found a flash of red fabric. Angelica's dress, swirling around as she danced with someone whose face was in shadow. Then they turned and it was immediately clear who Angelica's partner was.  
Thomas Jefferson.  
"Aw hell no," John said.  
Apparently Angelica spotted them looking at her, because she flashed them a fanged grin and made her way across the floor. Sadly Jefferson thought it appropriate to follow her.

"Hey guys," she said breathlessly. Her face was all flushed, presumably from the drink Eliza'd mentioned, but her eyes were as clear as ever. Although Alexander assumed that her contacts might be helping the cause.  
"Hi," Eliza said before anyone could snarl at Jefferson. "We were just waiting for you, would you fancy going back?"  
"Sure." Angelica looked them over. "Eh, I invited Thomas and his friends too, I hope no one minds?"  
"It's fine by me," Eliza shrugged as Alexander choked on the air. "Does anyone object?"  
There was a moment of strained silence as Jefferson, Alexander, John, Hercules, and Lafayette looked at each other. No one said a word.  
Then Angelica sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.  
"For real guys, I get that you don't like each other, but chill. It'll be fun!"  
There was another moment of silence, this time more disbelieving than before.  
Finally Lafayette spoke.  
"Yeah okay, sure, I don't mind."  
"Great!" Angelica grinned. "Let's go then!"  
She gestured for everyone to follow her, which meant that Alexander finally noticed the two boys that had shown up just outside their little circle. Their costumes, a demon and a zombie, had hidden who they were but he now recognized them as Burr and Madison. The former looked supremely awkward by the situation.

Since he didn't have much choice Alexander took John's hand and followed Angelica out of the dorm and into the night. And to whatever adventures an after party with his friends, most hated enemy, and the Schuyler sisters would bring.

* * *

Hello, and happy Halloween! I know that it's already November for some when I'm uploading this, but I hope it's okay anyways. I loved writing this, and as you've probably guessed there will be a part two. Until then, take care!

Edit: I realized that the legal drinking age in New York is 21 not 18 as I thought, so technically the squad might be too young to drink. My apologize for that, if everyone could just pretend that the law is slightly different in this AU that would be great. Stay safe and drink responsibly people!


	20. A bottle full of truth

**A bottle full of truth**

* * *

Angelica unlocked the door to her dorm and let the party inside. After a bit of shuffling as everyone tried he remove their shoes, which isn't that easy if you're wearing knee high boots, they found their way to the living room. And as any sensible group of decently intoxicated students would do they dropped down into the armchairs and sofa.  
"So, welcome to our dorm," Angelica said and sat down on the armrest of the couch. "It's eh– not that big."  
"It's fine," Jefferson assured her as he slouched in an armchair. Burr and Madison leaned against the two armrests, carefully balancing on the small surface. The two looked like they might not share Jefferson's opinion.  
"So what do we do now?" Eliza asked after a moment of awkward silence.  
"Party games?" Lafayette suggested.  
"I was just about to say that," Angelica said with half a smile. "No objections?"  
Everyone shook their heads.  
"Which game then," she continued. "Never have I ever?".  
Alexander shrugged slightly. "Sure, why not?" His answer was followed by a murmur of agreement.  
"Are we playing with shots though?" John asked.  
Angelica looked like she was about to accept the idea, but Burr interrupted her.  
"No." He said and glanced at Jefferson.  
"What, why not?" John said, looking as if Burr had just suggested that they should snack on broccoli instead of chocolate.  
Madison laughed softly. "Because Thomas is already drunk as hell."  
"I'm totally not!"  
"Sure, you're only slurring a little."  
Burr rolled his eyes at the two, and made a vague gesture as if to say "Case proven".  
"Well it's no fun to play it without shots," John grumbled.  
"So what else is possible then," Angelica asked. "Truth or dare?"  
"Oh yes!" Lafayette said.  
There was a chorus of "Sure, yeah, why not," and various noises of acceptance from around the room. Except from Jefferson, who was glaring angrily at Madison.  
"I'll get a bottle then," Angelica said before Jefferson could proclaim how not-drunk he was.  
"And some snacks!" Eliza called after her as she left the room.

Before long they sat in a cramped circle on the girls' floor. It gave them marginally more space than if they'd stayed on the furniture, but at least everyone fit. Well, sort of. Madison was basically sitting in Jefferson's lap, but it was the best they could do.  
"Let's go then!" Lafayette said excitedly and cracked his knuckles.  
Angelica handed the empty bottle she'd brought to her sister, who spun it.  
And the game was on.

"Angelica." Eliza announced.  
Her sister shifted towards her and smiled. "Go ahead, ask me something."  
Eliza critically eyed her up and down. "How much have you actually drunk tonight?"  
"Ehm, not _that_ much."  
"That's not an answer."  
"Hey, I don't remember the exact amount!"  
"Well I think that answers it." Eliza laughed and looked meaningly at the rest of the group.  
Angelica gave her a playful shove and spun the bottle.  
"Hercules!" she proclaimed.  
Alexander felt his friend straighten up a bit beside him. Angelica squinted her eyes at the guy, before letting her gaze travel across the room as if she'd find a suitable  
question hiding in a corner. With a start Alexander realized that her eyes had returned to their normal brown state, apparently she'd decided to ditch her contacts. At least it made her look a little less intimidating.  
Eventually Angelica shrugged and waved a hand over the four boys dressed in old war uniforms.  
"Did you actually make those costumes?"  
Eliza huffed. "God Ang, that's such a boring question."  
"Shut up!"  
Hercules chuckled softly. "Yeah I did."  
Angelica whistled appreciatively before handing him the bottle, and even Jefferson looked slightly impressed by the answer.

Hercules spun the bottle. The moment it landed on Lafayette John chuckled slightly.  
"Well this should be fun," he mumbled. Lafayette looked aghast.  
"Ey nothing inappropriate okay! There are children here!"  
"We are literally all the same age," Alexander remarked.  
"Not in maturity." Laf's eyes, accidentally of course, darted to the three boys straight across from him.  
Jefferson caught the gesture, and slowly raised his middle finger.  
Angelica shook her head like she couldn't belive how childish they were, and gestured to Hercules to just ask a question before the third world war broke lose.  
"I don't know what to ask," he muttered. He looked at Alexander for help, slight panic shining in his eyes.  
"Oh come on, there's gotta be something you want to ask me."  
A slow smirk spread across Hercules face as he glanced over at Laf. "Yeah but you said nothing inappropriate," he purred.  
"Okay _woah_ , dude."  
"Fine. Will you ever stop taking my hoodies?"  
Now it was Lafayette's turn to smirk.  
"No."  
Hercules groaned in despair and passed the bottle along.

"Oooh Angelica," Laf sang when the bottle stopped.  
"Again? Okay sure."  
"Who dances better me or," he gestured at Jefferson, "that guy?"  
Angelica laughed softly.  
"Sorry but I have to give Thomas this one."  
"What!?"  
"Sorry."  
Jefferson smiled smugly at him, clearly unable to not bask in his moment of glory. Lafayette pouted surly.  
"Well I can't say I'm surprised," Hercules muttered quietly. "No offense!" he added when he saw his boyfriend's look.  
Lafaytte appeared to have take full offense.

"By the way are we doing dares too?" Madison asked before Anglica could spin. She paused with her hand on the bottle, considering.  
"Well it's called truth or _dare_ so I guess we are."  
"What?" Lafayette exclaimed. "But I don't want to have to get up!" Indeed, he looked quite happy where he was snugged up against Hercules, who'd seemingly had to make amendments for his comment about Lafayette's dancing skills.  
"Okay new rule then," Eliza decided. "You can refuse a dare but then you have to do two questions instead."  
"Sounds good. And no terrible dares!" Angelica said and spun the bottle.

"That looks like it's John," she said once it stopped. "So when did you and Alex get together?"  
John blushed furiously.  
"Like early fall," he stammered, looking to Alexander for confirmation. Alexander, who was having throwbacks to that one day with the ice cream, nodded.  
Angelica smiled smugly at them. "How?"  
"You only get one question!"  
She raised her hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, just curious."  
The two breathed a collective sigh of relief. Alexander had a feeling Hercules and Lafayette would never let them eat cold snacks in peace ever again if the story got out.  
John seemed to have the same train of thoughts, as he avoided Alexander's eyes and eagerly spun the bottle.

"Oh I don't know what to ask you," he complained once it landed on Burr. The other guy looked at him with a carefully neutral face.  
"Does no one here know how to ask questions?" Jefferson wondered aloud.  
"Hey!" John said. "I just need to– Oh I know! What are you hiding in your room that's so important no one is allowed to enter?"  
Burr blinked. "Nothing!" he said immediately.  
"That's a very enthusiastic response," Angelica noted. "Are you totally sure?"  
"Yes! Honestly!"  
The room collectively raised their eyebrows at him.  
"Everyone who thinks that's a suspicious answer raise their hand," Lafayette said.  
Everyone, but Burr, lifted their hands.  
"I think that's a pretty unanimous answer," Angelica laughed.  
"Yup," Eliza agreed.  
"You should take a shot," Jefferson added. "As a penalty."  
So despite protesting their decision poor Burr was forced to accept this very democratic sentence. Although he proclaimed his innocence up until the very last minute.  
"You are punishing the wrong man," he complained before downing his shot.  
"You keep telling yourself that," Jefferson said and grabbed the liquor flask.

Once the game was going again Burr got the big honor of questioning Alexander. After a moment of indecisiveness he looked as if he'd thought of something to ask.  
"I'm getting nervous," Alexander groaned as Burr's eyes lit up.  
"Oh you shouldn't be," he said with a small smile. "I'm just wondering, on scale of one to ten, how good of a kisser was Thomas?"  
"FUCK YOU BURR!" Thomas yelled. Burr, grinning, ducked under the slap his friend aimed at him and the room exploded with laughter.  
"MINUS LIKE A HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE THOUSAND MILLIONS!" Alexander yelled over the chaos.  
"Oh God," Lafayette said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. "At least now we know what our next dare should be."  
"Burn. In. Hell."  
Lafayette just grinned.

"Eliza is doing remarkably well." Angelica said when the room had calmed down (although both Jefferson and Alexander still looked like they might not mind committing a murder or two).  
"So is James," Eliza smiled. "But let's not jinx this now okay?"  
Alexander spun the bottle, and everyone drew a collective breath as it almost turned to Jefferson, but then proceeded to stop slightly more to the right.  
"Okay so for the sake of peace and in the interest of this building still standing tomorrow I will declare that the bottle is pointing to James," Angelica hastily said. "Regardless of how I ironic that is."  
Everyone collectively breathed out again.  
"Okay, fine." Alexander grumbled. "So what is that man's obsession with mac 'n cheese?"  
James snorted, without needing to ask who Alexander was referring to. "I have no idea, honestly."  
"Thomas!" Burr said loudly as Jefferson opened his mouth. "No passionate rants about this food."  
"But–"  
"NO!" Burr and Madison yelled.

The next turn went to Laf, and in lack of better ideas Madison dared him to take a shot.  
"Is that even allowed?" John asked.  
"I think it is!" Lafayette said happily and reached for the flask. Before anyone could object he took a big swig from it. Definitely more than a shot.  
"Honestly Laf what the hell," Hercules groaned.  
"It's not my fault he dared me to do it!"  
Hercules sighed. "You know what? Just– keep playing."  
Lafayette gleefully complied, and grinned as soon as it landed on Alexander. Alexander himself immediately felt quite nervous.  
"Will you and John ever sleep in your own rooms again? Like, _separately_?"  
It was hard to tell who blushed the hardest of the two boys, since both John and Alexander turned spectacularly red.  
"No." Alexander finally answered.  
"Awwww, how cute," Jefferson teased them and formed a heart with his hands. "Someone is in loOove."  
Burr raised an eyebrow at him. Surprisingly enough, this made the other boy lower his hands. In fact Jefferson looked almost… ashamed?  
Alexander decided that this was a perfect opportunity to get out of the awkward situation, and spun the bottle in hope of focusing the group's attention onto someone else.

The bottle came to a stop by Eliza. Still embarrassed by the recent events Alexander choked out the first question he could think of, which maybe wasn't such a smart idea.  
"What do you find most attractive in guys?"  
Hercules whistled softly. "Damn Hamilton, already on the move again?"  
It suddenly occurred to Alexander how that question would be perceived.  
"NO! I mean that's not what I meant! I just, eh, I mean– No!"  
Hercules chuckled. "If you say so."  
"Guys calm down," Angelica laughed. "Let her answer."  
Eliza shook her head with a smile. "Eyes," she answered with absolute certainty.  
"Cool," Burr said and passed her the bottle, trying to shift the attention away from Alexander. It was a valid attempt, and Alexander appreciated it. Sadly it didn't help, since as soon as the bottle stopped on Laurens Eliza asked, "So when did you start liking Alex?"  
"Oh, well, eh..." John stuttered. "Honestly from like the beginning," he added shyly, glancing towards his boyfriend with open, innocent eyes. Something warm spread through Alexander's chest as he looked into them, and his lips moved into a small smile.  
Thomas groaned. "The hell is this, some kind of Hamilton-Laurens dating show?"  
"Just shut up Thomas," Angelica snapped.  
John glared furiously at him. "I'll get you back for that!"  
Jefferson began to say something in response, but a look from Angelica had him biting his tongue instead. Satisfied, Angelica nodded at John to continue.

John spun, but missed Jefferson and got Angelica instead.  
"DAMMIT! Okay, pick your favourite person in the room?"  
"Eliza."  
Lafayette whistled quietly. "Wow, she didn't even hesitate."  
"Of course not," Angelica said with a small smile towards her sister. Her eyes were full of affectionate warmth, so strong that Alexander was quite sure he'd never seen that kind of look before.  
Eliza smiled back at her sister. "I love you to Angie."  
The two hugged each other, and even Jefferson refrained from commenting.  
The next round went to Burr, who again kept his features totally neutral. Angelica did not.  
"Okay Aaron I'm sorry in advance about this."  
"Okay?" Burr asked, his voice completely devoid of any fear or suspicion. His eyes gleamed anxiously.  
Angelica drew a deep breath.  
"What's between you and that girl?" She slurred her words slightly, and Alexander was reminded no matter how sober she acted she'd actually consumed a lot of alcohol.  
Burr was fighting hard to appear unfazed, but he was fiddling nervously with the cuffs of his shirt.  
"What girl? I'm sure I don't know who you're talking about."  
Angelica huffed. "Please, you know exactly who I mean."  
"It's nothing."  
Jefferson looked around with wide eyes. "What girl?"  
"No one!" Burr said immediately.  
Angelica raised her eyebrows and smirked knowingly at him. A smile slowly crept across Jefferson's face as well.  
"You never told me you had a cru-ush," he said, almost singing the last words. "You should have brought her here tonight, Burr!"  
Burr stared hardly at his friend, finally dropping his mask of pretend indifference.  
"Not everyone flaunts their feelings openly, _Thomas."  
_ The other boy visibly recoiled, and mumbled something inaudible.  
"Wow guys, this got hostile very quickly," Eliza laughed.  
But Angelica, intoxicated or not, had picked up on Burr's choice of words.  
"What do you mean "not everyone"," she said slowly. Her eyes glittered wickedly and Alexander found himself thinking that maybe, just maybe, she was actually less scary with contacts. "What feelings are _you_ flaunting, _Thomas_?"  
As one the room turned to Jefferson.  
"I, uh, I think that, em. IT'S AARON'S TURN TO SPIN THE BOTTLE!" Thomas yelled and grabbed Burr's hand and spun it for him, forcing them to turn their attention to the heavy glassware shooting across the room without control. So Angelica let the comment slide. For now.

"Okay, it's Mulligan. Um, I dare you to tell a poem to someone in the room." Burr said.  
Hercules shrugged.  
"Okay sure." Then he turned to Lafayette and cleared his throat.  
" _Roses are red, violets are blue, stop taking my hoodies, or I'll steal yours too!_ "  
Silence followed his words, until Alexander started slow clapping. Soon everyone was applauding Hercules poetry skills. Everyone but a very offended Lafayette.  
"See you had the opportunity to say something sweet or kinda romantic but _no_!"  
Hercules smirked and leaned over to whisper something in Lafayette's ear. Whatever he said, it made Lafayette blush insanely much.  
"OKAY, Mulligan!" Alexander couldn't tell whether he was shocked, disgusted or impressed. Maybe all of them.  
John chuckled. "I think someone is drunk."  
"I think Herc's _real_ self is showing!" Alexander argued.  
Instead of denying this, Hercules just kept smirking. Lafayette buried his head in his hands.  
"Oh don't act so embarrassed," Angelica said. "Surely you already knew this side of him?"  
Lafayette looked as if he wanted to sink into the floor.

"Okay Jefferson, so what's this talk about feelings? You actually have those?" Hercules asked when they started playing again.  
Jefferson stuttered something completely inaudible as he stared at the bottle pointing towards him. Alexander felt a growing feeling of satisfaction as he watched him furiously trying to stammer his way out of the situation. A minutes ago Alexander wouldn't have thought it possible, but he was probably more embarrassed than Laf. And Laf still hadn't stopped blushing.  
In the midst of Jefferson muttering something that's sounded like "Ayayay not no why would no," Burr made a show of glancing between Jefferson and Madison. Very, very obvious glances.  
Alexander noticed him. And immediately remembered how, when they had been cleaning the other's dorm, only two of the beds had looked used. Then he added two and two together.  
"Hey Hercules," he said calmly and made eye contact with Burr. "Since Jefferson seems unable to answer the question, may I suggest a dare instead?"  
"Sure?" Herc said, somewhat surprised. "Take it away."  
Alexander tore his gaze away from Burr, who was now smiling, and looked straight at Jefferson.  
"I, on behalf of Hercules, dare you to kiss the person you like most in this room."  
Jefferson choked on his words.  
Then, as he noticed everyone's stares and the trap he'd walked into he raised his middle finger at Alexander.  
And swiftly turned and kissed Madison.

The kiss lasted for a long time. A very long time. When Madison eventually let go of Jefferson's shirt the latter whipped around to stare at Alexander.  
"Fucking happy?" he snarled.  
Alexander grinned at him. "Very."  
"Wait wait wait. Are you two… dating?" John asked, observant as usual.  
Madison looked him dead in the eyes.  
"No." he said, completely seriously.  
Behind him Burr was nodding like his head might fall of.  
"Yes of course we are." Jefferson spat and rolled his eyes.  
Eliza grinned happily at them, and Lafayette laughed.  
" _Merde_ , everyone's secrets are unravelling here," he noted. "So who's next?"  
Jefferson shrugged lightly, seemingly a bit more at ease now. Or maybe it was just that the boy next to him was trying, and failing, to hide a huge smile. But out if the corner of his eye Alexander's attention was pulled to Angelica. She had tensed up at Lafayette's words, and was now busying herself with adjusting the folds in her skirt. Her fingers fluttered nervously over the red fabric.  
No one else seemed to notice though, and so the game went on. And the turn, of course, went to Angelica.

Her head jerked up as the bottle shuddered to a stop in front of her. Her eyes filled with what was unmistakably fear. Her normally warm brown irises seemed to swivel with some unspeakable horror, ready to claw it's way out any moment.  
Jefferson was distracted by trying to discreetly take Madison's hand, and payed her no attention.  
"Oh right. Questions. Have you ever been drunk in class?"  
She laughed relievedly and Alexander could almost see the panic disappear from her eyes, once again leaving them open and friendly. Whatever she'd feared it was apparently not inquires about her alcohol habits.  
"Nah," she simply answered.  
Eliza jabbed her teasingly in the side. "You were super hungover once though."  
Angelica laughed with her and jokingly pushed her hand away. "Yeah sure, whatever you say."  
"You totally were."  
"Fine, but that wasn't the question, silly."  
Eliza stuck her tongue out, and her sister laughed lovingly at her.  
Maybe Alexander had just imagined whatever was swirling in those deep, clever eyes.

Apparently fate did not plan on going easy on the newly announced boyfriends, because this time the bottle landed on Madison.  
"So how long have you been dating?" she asked nonchalantly.  
Before he could answer Lafayette groaned.  
"The hell is this? Some kind of Madison-Jefferson dating show?"  
"Shut up," Angelica laughed. "Besides, _you're_ almost sitting in Hercules' lap, so I wouldn't talk."  
Lafayette shuffled quickly to the side, but stayed quiet.  
"A month or so before college," Madison answered calmly with a glance towards Jefferson, who nodded. "Yeah about four months".  
"Oh God," Angelica laughed. "Poor Aaron."  
Burr glanced at her. "Please, tell me about it."  
Everyone, even Jefferson, laughed. Alexander had to admit that the image of Unfortunate-third-wheel-Burr was slightly amusing. Poor guy.

Madison made the next turn go to Eliza, who smiled softly at him.  
"Hmm, so going if the current _theme_ , have you ever had a crush on anyone at school? And in that case who?"  
Eliza's smile froze on her face.  
"Like _ever_?" Beside her Angelica took a sharp breath.  
"Yeah that's what I asked right?"  
"We haven't even been here one full term yet," Lafayette joked. "So it's not a very long ever."  
"I guess," Madison accepted with smile. "But it got the point across."  
Their banter went unnoticed by Alexander, who was studying Eliza. She was blushing wildly and stared intensely at a point in the floor. Angelina was looking worriedly at her.  
Silence fell across the room, and Eliza must've realized everyone was waiting for her answer because she looked up.  
"Well I guess..." she started, her eyes fluttering around the room.  
"Oh come on just tell us," Hercules said kindly. "We won't judge."  
Eliza glanced quickly at him, before staring down at her hands. They were shaking.  
Then she suddenly spoke very fast.  
"I guess I kinda did have like a little crush on–" She stumbled over the words and choked up. Finally she managed a small sound, barely a whisper. "Alexander."  
"Oh shit." Lafayette breathed.  
There was silence.  
Eliza looked up at them. She looked like a deer caught in the spotlight if a car.  
"But it's over now I promise and it wasn't even that big of deal and I know it's was stupid and yeah," she said hurriedly, almost tripping over the words. She took a slowly breath as if to calm herself, and finally met Alexander's eyes.  
He realized that he should probably say something.  
"I'm... sorry?" he stammered.  
And Eliza, despite everything, smiled at him like she completely understood.  
"Oh don't be, I always knew I never had a chance. And beside you two are so cute together." She gestured to John, and Alexander was hit by a terrible thought.  
Eliza had had a crush on him  
He had been dating John before he'd even met Eliza.  
Every time the three had been together instantly played through his mind. He desperately tried to remember how open he and John had been, how much of their relation Eliza had been forced to endure. But they had met her so soon after the two had begun openly dating, and Alexander had never realized how she might feel, and she'd just watched it all with a friendly smile and understanding eyes.  
Shit shit shit shit shit.

"I'm sorry," Alexander repeated weakly. It wasn't enough. It would never be enough.  
And Eliza just continued to smile at him.  
"Please, it's hardly your fault. And there's many other people out there, I'll find someone. Also you and John are really happy together, and that's enough." Enough. To her it was enough. Because Eliza would always understand, and she truly, honestly thought that Alexander's happiness was _enough_.  
Angelica softly took her sister's hand and held it. Her eyes were glittering with untold emotions as she murmured something to Eliza, to low for the others to hear. Eliza whispered something back that had Angelica looking at the floor with a shy smile.  
Several moments passed, and this time the silence was soft and calm, wrapping around the group like a blanket.

They played a couple more round after that, all much friendlier than the previous ones had been. There were no hostile interrogations and no big secret reveals. Even Jefferson and Alexander were decently polite to each other. Eliza was lying with her head in Angelica's lap, her eyes almost closed as she drifted in and out of sleep. She looked completely at peace, like this was her place in the world, in room full of people laughing and smiling together. Perhaps it was.

John yawned lazily as he was trying to ask Lafayette something.  
"You shuwwld awaw serhes uh."  
" _Ami_ what?" Lafayette asked. " _Je suis désolé mais je ne parle pas cette langue_."  
John looked bewildered.  
"Huh? Laf I understand approximately zero percent if what you're saying."  
Lafayette nodded happily, "And that, my dear Laurens, is exactly my point."  
"What."  
"He's saying that you were speaking utter nonsense before," Hercules laughed.  
"Oh right. I said I dare you to run outside. Shirtless."  
"Dude." Lafayette groaned.  
Alexander snorted. "Isn't that what you normally do Laf? Or was that an honor reserved especially for me?"  
Angelica exchanged a glance with Jefferson. "Is there as story we haven't been told about?"  
The four boys looked at each other.  
"It's a long one," Alexander finally said. And now that he thought about it, it actually was.

They stumbled home not long after, though not before they'd been forced to summarise that one night when Lafayette had run outside shirtless at two a.m. and found a very lost Alexander. As they walked through the empty campus grounds Alexander figured that maybe that wasn't so unlike the present. Because, hell bent on completing the dare as he was, Lafayette had removed his shirt. It flew behind him as he ran around in the night, like some sort of drunk superhero. Maybe it was just like that night, except this time it was a shirt and and not an American flag that Lafayette was waving. And, Alexander thought as he threw his arm around John and pulled him close, this time he wasn't lost.

* * *

Translations:  
 _Merde  
_ Damn

 _Je suis désolé mais je ne parle pas cette langue  
_ I'm sorry but I don't speak that language

Greetings people! Okay this was a super long chapter. I know the last one was quite long as well, I hope no one minds that these are a bit longer. It was super super fun to write though so I hope you like it as much as I do. I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated, I have been trying really hard to get this done quickly but it took a lot more time than I expected, so thank you for being patient. Feel free to tell me to hurry up with writing if I take this long in the future. Anyways thanks so much for reading this, I appreciate it a ton. I hope you have a great rest of your day, take care!


	21. Dorm decorations

**Dorm decorations**

* * *

The sound of a closing door and someone humming woke Alexander from a half slumber. He stared drowsily at the book in his lap, trying to remember why it was there. Then the words " _Magnetic fields and quarks_ " reached his brain and he realized it was a text book. He'd been studying. Of course.  
The distinct notes of jingle bells grew stronger as the hummer made his way into the living room. Alexander smiled faintly at the familiar tune and closed his book, just as John became visible. His face was flushed from the cold outside and his eyes were sparkling. Alexander didn't even have time to open his mouth before the boy launched himself onto the sofa and dropped two heavy bags on him.  
"Oomph!"  
"Hi Alex," John said breathlessly and kissed his nose.  
"Hey," Alexander replied, showing the bags of his stomach and stealing a kiss before asking, "What's this?"  
John grinned widely, happiness practically radiating off his face.  
"It's Christmas stuff! Like decorations and lights and cards and things!"  
Alexander laughed at his boyfriend and buried his head in the other's shoulder.  
"John, sweetheart, did you buy two full bags of _christmas decorations_?"  
"Of course!" John was bouncing up and down in excitement, forcing Alexander to straighten up or risk a concussion.  
"I saw these really pretty photos on the Internet of all the people with decorated houses and it looks really fun so I figured we should decorate here too! Like just look at this!" He proceeded to taking out his phone to show Alexander about a hundred different photos of christmas trees, lights, themed rooms and anything and everything related to winter.  
"It's very pretty," Alexander smiled, looking more at John then at the pictures. He looked insanely adorable every time he got excited about something, and Alexander had almost only seen him this passionate when he talked about art or turtles. His whole being was shining with emotion, and a constant grin was lingering on his face. It made Alexander's heart flutter very irregularly.  
Unable to contain himself any longer John jumped up and began to empty his bags. He'd truly meant what he'd said, and Alexander could barely fathom how much stuff he'd actually bought.  
"We're gonna have the most epically decorated dorm ever," John laughed when he saw Alexander face. "Here help me hang these lights."

And so the two boys spent the next twenty minutes trying to figure out how to attach a string of fairy lights around their window frame. It would probably have gone a lot faster if they hadn't begun to sing bad christmas song in the middle of it all, but whatever. They got up eventually.  
"It's perfect!" John squealed when they'd untangled themselves from the chords and the lights were in place.  
"Truly," Alexander said, starting to feel John's enthusiasm. "Let's do more!"  
They continued placing the stuff John had bought all around the dorm, eventually attracting the attention of the other two.  
" _What_ on earth is– Oh," Hercules said as he poked his head out of his room and spotted John and Alexander wrestling with a piece of silver tinsel.  
"We're decorating." Alexander said through a mouthful of glitter.  
"Right." Hercules said skeptically and walked over to save them from their shiny prison. "You're not supposed to _eat_ the decorations, Hamilton."  
"It wasn't intentional!"  
" _Holy tinsel so tasty and mild_ ," John sang.  
"Not you too!" Alexander groaned

It seemed like Lafayette had finally noticed the commotion because he poked his head around his door.  
"What's this talk of eating tinsel?" he asked suspiciously. "Is this some weird American thing you haven't told me about?"  
"I'm NOT eating tinsel!" Alexander yelled in frustration, causing the other three to laugh.  
"Sure, mon ami, so what are you doing?"  
"Decorating!" John and Alexander said in unison.  
"Saving two small elfs from a glittery death," Hercules muttered.  
Lafayette blinked.  
"Sure," he said slowly. "Well decorating sounds like a lot more fun." His eyes landed on the pile of stuff and his face lit up with delight.  
"Stickers!" he yelled.  
Indeed, he'd found a sheet of sparkly snowflakes which he proceeded to stick all over the kitchen cupboards.  
"It seemes like I too am obligated to help add to the festive season," Hercules mused. "So I'm gonna put up this tinsel, hopefully saving you all from suffocation."  
Alexander rolled his eyes, but happily followed John back to the pile to find something else to do. There was, after all, a lot of stuff left.

The four spent the next two hours making their dorm as aesthetically pleasing as possible, all the while singing a horribly out of tune version of "Deck the halls". Eventually Lafayette decided to start with some French songs, causing the others to retaliate with a very loud version of "Frosty the snowman." It was a good time.

" _It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas_ ," Lafayette hummed as he placed a huge snow globe on their dinner table. He was right, John's ornaments were almost completely gone and their dorm had never looked more seasonally appropriate.  
"It's beautiful," Hercules said and sank down in the sofa. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking suspiciously at the remaining things on the table.  
"Wait, what is this stuff?"  
John blushed slightly and cleared his throat.  
"Well that was the other thing I saw, it's eh– different arts and crafts stuff. For Christmas."  
"So you bought stuff so we could make our own decorations after already putting up decorations?" Alexander asked.  
John nodded.  
"Sweet. I'm in!"  
"Me too!" Lafayette laughed and jumped over the sofa to get to the supplies. "I'm gonna make one of those pleated heart things!"

So they spent another couple of hours messing around with kids' craft projects and munching on gingerbread cookies. John found his paints and painted small glass ornaments, Meanwhile Alexander was struggling with trying to fold an origami star. Suddenly, Hercules started laughing.  
"Look at this!" he giggled, holding up some sort of angel he had made. It was absolutely hideous.  
"Wow." Lafayette said. "That might me the worst thing I've ever seen."  
Hercules nodded, laughing too hard to speak.  
"That," Alexander said with a grin, "is going on top of the christmas tree."  
John suddenly froze.  
"Guys we don't have a tree."  
"How observant," Lafayette said sarcasticly, looking around their tiny dorm. "I thought we were growing a forest in here."  
"We should buy one!" John's eyes were sparkling. "We can put it over there and–"  
"John, John, John," Lafayette interrupted him. "Hey, I support your holiday spirit and stuff but you can't go out and buy a tree on impulse."  
John pouted sadly. "Why not?"  
"Because it's a _tree_. Like an actual, really big, _tree_."  
"We could get a small one?"  
"No."  
John glared at them and stomped out to his room. Ten minutes later he returned, holding five big papers taped together. On them he'd painted a tree.  
"Are you serious?" Alexander laughed.  
"Dead." John answered.  
Alexander ran over to help him, and together they taped the tree onto the only empty piece of wall that was left.  
"Okay sure, you win," Hercules laughed. "Here let me finish it off!" He grabbed the hideous angel and taped it to the top of the "tree".  
"Perfect!"  
"That thing will kill us in our sleep," Lafayette said.  
"No it won't, it's a guardian angel," Hercules protested.  
"Sure," Alexander said. "The derpiest angel in all of existence."  
"Exactly."

John continued doing his best to decorate the tree, while Hercules made his way to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. Once John declared that the tree was done the four gathered in the sofa to drink marshmallowy cocoa and finish the rest of the cookies. Then they sat there talking, laughing and listening to old Christmas songs.  
"We're really getting into the Christmas spirit aren't we?" Lafayette sighed softly as he curled up next to his boyfriend.  
"Sure are." Alexander said, nodding to Lafayette's head. He'd given up on his pleated heart and instead opted to wear it as a hat.  
"Fabulous isn't it?"  
"Of course," Hercules said and put his arm around him.  
"I love Christmas," John said contently as he dipped his cookie into his drink.  
"You guys know it's still November, right?" Hercules muttered.  
"Shut up!" the others called in unison.

* * *

Hello! I hope you enjoyed this slightly less intense chapter, I figured the boys deserved some time to calm down after the last one. I don't really have anything special to say, feel free to leave a message if you want to tell me something or if you have any ideas you think I should write. I'll be more than happy to hear your suggestions. I hope you have a great day and thanks so much for reading. Take care!

Ps. To everyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas: I hope you are okay with this type of chapter and that you can enjoy it anyways, I don't want anyone to feel excluded but since I celebrate Christmas myself it's the holiday I feel most comfortable writing about.


	22. It's the middle of the night

**It's the middle of the night**

* * *

Alexander groaned and buried his head deep in his pillow. He was way too tired for this shenanigans. It was finals week, and he hadn't slept properly in at least ten days, so why was he still awake? He actually had time to get a decent amount of sleep right now but apparently his brain had other plans. Why enjoy a night full of good, healthy, energizing dreams when you could be tossing and turning for a couple of hours?  
After glaring angrily at the ceiling for about ten minutes Alexander dragged himself out of bed to get a glass of water. He carefully opened his door, mindful of any noise that would wake John, who was still sleeping soundly. He too needed every minute of sleep he could get.

Alexander tiptoed out into the living room, expecting it to be empty and pitch black except for the Christmas lights. He was wrong. A cold blue light illuminated the whole room, including the boy sitting in front of a lap top.  
It was John who was sat at the kitchen table, furiously typing away at his keyboard. He was hunched over, and his hair was a mess. Even from the other side of the room Alexander could see empty coffee cups littering the table. He must have woken up long ago, and left the room without Alexander noticing.

"Hey, you okay?" Alexander whispered as he walked across the room.  
"Yes."  
Alexander furrowed his brows at the answer, way to curt for John's normal way of talking.  
"Um, what are you doing? It's like two o'clock."  
"I'm studying," John all but snapped. He didn't even look away from his keyboard.  
A clump of uneasiness began to grow in Alexander's stomach. It was not like John to talk like this, to not even look at him. In the icy light of his screen the dark circles under the other boy's eyes were immensely prominent. It made Alexander want to snatch the laptop away from him and wrap him up in a blanket. He must be exhausted.  
"You look bone-tired babe, you need to sleep," Alexander said, fighting to keep the worry out of his voice.  
"I need to finish this essay."  
Alexander swallowed. This was not good.  
"You sure you're okay?" he asked again, lightly touching John's shoulder.  
John finally whipped his head around and stared at him.  
"I said _yes_ Alexander!"  
Alexander jumped, pulling his hand back. John's eyes were glowing in the laptop's light. His voice had a bite to it that Alexander had never heard before, at least not aimed towards him. It was almost scary.  
"Sorry," Alexander mumbled. "I'll - I'll leave you to it then."  
"Good," John said, turning back to his screen.  
"But– Please get some sleep soon. You can't stay up all night." Alexander whispered as he turned back towards his room.  
There was no reply.

Alexander stayed awake for a long time, twisting in his sheets as he replayed the conversation in his head. It wasn't like John to act like that, but he was probably just tired. Alexander understood the stress of rushing an essay last minute, and everyone's temper was short at this time of term. Despite that one part of the conversation still irked him. Alexander. John had called him Alexander. He never did that, it was always Alex. In fact, he'd grow accustomed to never hearing his full name from John's mouth. It wasn't such a big deal, he knew that. Still, it just felt wrong. But he shouldn't think so much about it, Alexander frustratedly told himself. He had no reason to get this worked up over a _nickname_.  
Eventually he fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next time Alexander woke up he felt like his eyelids were laden with stones. A quick glance at his phone told him the time was quarter past four. After muttering curse words to no one in particular he got up, determined to get his glass of water this time.

John was still in the kitchen.  
"Dude you have to go to bed," Alexander said incredulously when he spotted him.  
John made a frustrated sound as Alexander went to stand beside him.  
"I'm fine. Just leave me alone."  
"It's the middle of the night!"  
"I'm aware," was the only reply.  
Alexander lingered unsurely by his side, wondering what he should do. While he knew John probably had to finish his paper there was no way it could be this important. The guy looked like a zombie.

When John for the fifth time angrily deleted a paragraph Alexander figured he had to say _something_.  
"Um, do you want help?"  
"No."  
Alexander wanted to sob. Instead, he wordlessly began to clear away the dirty cups surrounding John, determined to at the very least give him a clean place to work.  
Still, you can only spend that much time moving dishes, and John showed no signs of being willing to take a break.  
"You sure you don't want help?" Alexander all but pleaded.  
And John snapped.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" he yelled, showing his chair behind him as he stood up. "I'm trying to do my fucking work and you come in here every other minute trying to distract me? The hell is wrong with you? Why do you always have to put your nose in other people's business? You think you're so much smarter than everyone else, don't you? Always trying to offer some goddamn advice, cause surely no one else could _possibly_ be capable of making their own decisions!"  
Alexander's breath caught in his throat.  
"Well guess what, I can! And it would be a damn lot easier if you weren't constantly here annoying me. Maybe you've got the time to spend the night dreaming some sweet dreams, well good for you! But if I want to pass this class I have to spend _my_ time doing some actual work. But oh please, Mister Enlightenment, do tell me how to write an essay for a class you're not even in!"  
"John–" Alexander started, feeling anger replace the worry in his chest. There was no reason for him to act like this, all he'd done was try to _help_.  
"Well let me hear then! Whatever shall I do, your Highness?" John asked mockingly.  
"Fine." Alexander snapped. "I was trying to be nice, trying to show I fucking _care_ about you. I guess that wasn't appreciated. I guess I'll just leave you here then, writing your thesis about the different shades of pink or whatever."  
The moment the last sentence left his mouth he immediately regretted it. But it was too late.  
"Oh you think you're so damn clever don't you?" John snarled, his face burning with rage. "Think you're so much better than everyone else, doing you honours classes and learning long fancy words about this and that. Think that surely no one else's classes could be hard? Surely no one else could have to do any work? Well then, princess, don't let me break your little bubble."  
Words flooded out of Alexander's mouth before he could stop them, laced with venom.  
"Oh I'm sorry I'm trying to use my brain to get somewhere in life. Clearly that makes me an awful human being, I won't disrupt your holy being with my terrible presence. I guess me and the entire fucking English language will have to leave you alone, since you seem so immensely discouraged by our existence. Have fun using _paint_ to do your essay!"  
John stared at him for a second.  
"Please do," he then snapped. "You and your _words_ can go and enjoy your life. I'm certain it will be most pleasant!" John slammed the lid of his laptop shut and stormed past Alexander, out of their dorm.  
The door closed behind him with a bang.

Suddenly, Alexander was alone. The darkness of the room seem to close in on him as regret welled up inside him.  
 _What had he said?  
Why had he said that?  
_His knees crashed into the floor as he fell to the ground. Over by the window the lights he and John had strung up just a few days before twinkled merrily. It felt like such a mockery. How had everything gone to shit this fast? Alexander slammed a hand over his mouth to stop any sounds that might escape, terrified of waking the others.  
 _Why had he said all that?  
Why hadn't he just stayed quiet?  
Why why why?_

Eventually he dragged himself back to bed.

When he woke up again it was morning. The sunlight streaming in through his window felt like a promise. Alexander rose, determined to find John and apologize for what had happened. And get an apology back. Then everything would be fine again. Repeating that last thought in his head he pushed his door open and walked out to breakfast.

The second he came into the kitchen John looked up and made eye contact with him. Alexander opened his mouth, a sorry already on his lips.  
"I'll see you later," John muttered to Lafayette as he quickly stood up. Then he walked straight past Alexander without so much as a glance in his direction. Down the hall Alexander could hear his door close with a bang.  
The apology vanished from his mouth.  
"Well he was in a hurry," Lafayette chuckled. "Care for some toast?" he then asked.  
Alexander looked at the bread, and felt a wave of nausea overcome him.  
"I'm good, thanks," he whimpered.

The rest of the day was a nightmare. Alexander stumbled through the school corridors and his classes, barely registering a word of what was happening. Two times someone had to nudge him until he'd realized he'd been asked a question. It was horrible.  
When he hurried down the hall to his last class he was near tears. A colorful poster caught his attention, and his eyes scanned the words before he could look away.  
 _Looking for a festive gift for your significant other? Don't miss out on–  
_ The rest of the words were lost to Alexander as his vision blurred up. He lowered his head and ran down the corridor, focusing hard on breathing. In and out. In and out. He did not want to think about the question the poster had evoked.  
 _Did he even have a significant other any more?_

He felt like he got his answer that night. For the first time in months he and John went to sleep in separate rooms.

* * *

I'M SORRY. Please don't hate me for this, I swear I'm sorry. I'll try to make up for it by posting the next chapter really really soon (which hopefully means tomorrow). Thanks so much for reading, and I hope no one is mad at me. Take care!


	23. Two words and one conversation

The lock razzled as Alexander turned the key to let himself in. He'd managed to get through yet another day of classes, but he was exhausted. John was always at the back of his mind and the worry and guilt was eating him alive. With a deep sigh Alexander walked inside the dorm, desperate to find something, anything, to distract him.

The first thing he saw was John. He was sitting on the sofa, and Alexander's stomach lurched. He froze on the threshold, the thought of turning and sprinting away crossing his mind. He couldn't take another fight. He couldn't.  
Then he heard the sounds.  
John's shoulders were shaking violently, his face was buried in his hands and he was rocking back and forth. He was sobbing.

Alexander felt all strength leave his body. His heart felt like it was breaking into millions of pieces, just watching John like that. All feelings of lingering anger were washed away into oblivion. There was nothing he wanted more than to run to John's side and dry his tears until all was good again. To hold him against his chest and calm him. Still, he stood glued in the doorway, unable to move or say or do anything. He'd never felt so lost.

John chipped for breath and there was a violent pang in Alexander's chest. He couldn't take this anymore. Slowly, as to not scare away a startled animal, Alexander moved across their dorm.  
"John?" he whispered, voice shaking.  
John looked up at him. His face was red and shining with tears, his eyes were puffy and swollen. He must've been here for a long time. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch as he registered Alexander. Then he buried his head in his hands again.  
"I'm sorry," he choked out. His voice was raw. "I'm so sorry."  
Alexander sank down next to him, the urge to be close to John, to comfort him, was way to strong. His hand, almost by it's own accord, lightly touched John shoulder. Before he could say anything, John looked up at him again.  
"Can I say something?" John's voice was quivering.  
Alexander could feel the tenseness in John's muscles underneath his hand. There was a hint of panic glimmering in his eyes, as if he feared Alexander's answer.  
Swallowing against the tears in his throat, Alexander nodded.  
"You can always say anything to me." His voice broke on the last syllable.  
Tears rose in John's eyes and he drew a shuddering breath, as if to prepare himself.  
"I'm sorry," he repeated again. "I'm sorry for what I said. I– I don't know why I did." He swallowed hard, and looked away before continuing.  
"It's just I, I don't know how to explain it, but I was so... stressed? There's been so much this past week and I don't know how to handle it. I'm so scared of failing my classes, and it feels like nothing I do is good enough anymore. And– and my parents have been, hard. They expect so much from me and I feel like I'll disappoint them and they'll hate me. They already wish I took other classes then I do, more advanced classes." John's hands were shaking in his lap. Without thinking about it Alexander silently reached out and took one of them. John breathed in sharply, but clutched Alexander's hand tightly. Like it was a life line.

"That night I was– I was so close to crashing. I felt like I had so much work to do and like I wouldn't be able to keep up and like I was just wasting my time, so I got up to try to write that damn essay. And it just wouldn't work. Then, then you just appeared and I don't know why, but it just made me angry. I just wanted to work, to get it over with. And then after you left the first time I felt terrible, so I just tried to finish the stupid thing so I could calm down and go back and apologize. But I just couldn't get it done, and it made me so angry and– and I felt powerless, you know? I know it's stupid but all I could think of was how you look when you write, how immensely concentrated you are and how the words just seem to flow. And I got so irritated, at myself, because I can never do that. So I kept working, trying to get it right but it just wouldn't. Then you were suddenly there again."  
John breathed in, his breath shaking with repressed sobs. Alexander held on tighter to his hand.

"Then you asked if I wanted help, and I– I did. But I was already so angry with myself, and so tired, and I wanted to prove I could do it on my own. I don't know why, or why I was thinking that but I did. I had to be able to do this. And then when you asked again all that anger, all that fear, it just exploded. I don't know what came over me but I just started– well you know what happened. It was like all that pent up anger and fear and stress was projecting out of me, and it just felt good. And I hate it. I hate how projected it onto you. Because all you did was ask if I wanted help, and I did want it, and I did appreciate it, and that made me so angry." John was sobbing now, his words barely audible.  
"All I could think of was how easy you make it look, how effortlessly you write. And then I realized what I was saying, what I'd done, and I didn't know what to do. I was so angry and I panicked and I just... ran. I ran outside and then I fell to the ground and realized what I'd done and I was so scared. But I didn't dare to go back 'cause I didn't know what to say and I didn't know if I would explode again so I just crashed in that little study room instead."  
"I figured I would apologize the next day, but then when I saw you I just panicked and fled again. I thought you were going to hate me, so I didn't want to talk to you and I didn't know what to do."  
John swallowed again, and finally looked at Alexander. His eyes were gleaming with tears.  
"I know it's not an excuse. I know there is no excuse for what I did. And I'm sorry. More sorry than I've ever been before. I understand if you can't forgive me, but I want you to know what– what happened."  
Alexander was struck speechless. This was not what he'd been expecting. So he did the only thing he could think of, the thing he'd been yearning to do for so long. He wrapped his arms around John and pulled him close.  
John made a noise of surprise, and then his body relaxed. His arms curled up around Alexander, and a soft sob escaped from him.

"Can I tell you something too?" Alexander whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry as well. More sorry than I've ever been. That night– I've been stressed too. I feel like no matter what I do, no matter how much I write, it's never enough. Then I saw you and you looked… miserable. I was so worried for you, and you wouldn't stop. You wouldn't go to sleep. And I guess I snapped too."  
He told John everything that had happened. The worry, the anger, the guilt and the panic. The poster. Everything welled out of him, and John held him tight in their embrace all through it.  
"Can I say something else too?" Alexander mumbled. "You said you were... jealous, of how fast I write. Well I was always jealous of your drawings. How you can create life like that, with just a paper and pencil. I always admired that about you and I'm – I'm sorry. About everything."  
They stayed quiet after that, so close together that Alexander could feel John's heartbeat. The ache in his chest reminded him of how much he'd missed this, the closeness, the safety. How much he'd feared he'd lost it forever.

It was John who broke the silence.  
"Are we good again?" he whispered.  
"I want us to be."  
"Yeah, me too."  
And just like that, a heavy weight was lifted from Alexander's heart. So they just sat there for a little longer, letting the calmness engulf them.

"I was so afraid," Alexander finally said.  
"Same, I thought I had lost you."  
Alexander fought back tears, struggling to keep his voice steady.  
"I'll never let my emotions control me like that again," he woved.  
John let go of him and straightened up, just enough to be able to look him in the eyes.  
"No, don't say that. Don't be afraid of your emotions. They're what makes you you," he said seriously. "That's what I, what I first fell in love with about you. The way you look when you are passionate. When you care."  
Alexander blinked at him. John blushed, and reached up to brush Alexander's hair out of his face. His touch was as light as a feather's.  
"Maybe this is just a stupid life philosophy, but the way I see it emotion is what sets your soul on fire. Don't kill those flames. Don't let your soul go dark."  
John held his gaze while he talked, his eyes completely honest and open. Slowly a smile began to spread on Alexander's face.  
"I guess I'll stay emotional then, and fuel that fire with the good ones."  
John grinned at him and pulled him closer. Close enough for a kiss.  
"Let's light up the world," he murmured onto Alexander's lips.

Falling asleep curled up to John that night, their bodies so close together that there was no telling where one of them ended and the other began, sure made Alexander feel emotional. Namely one very specific emotion.  
Happiness.

* * *

Hi guys! I hope this chapter made some of you feel a bit better after the last, I don't know if it actually affected anyone else but I got really sad when writing that one. Still, I felt like it was fitting at this time of the year. Just a quick PSA for finals weeks/ end of term work: Remember to eat and sleep. I know it's stressful as hell, but remember to take care of yourself too (I'm not saying don't study, obviously you should study, but a realistic amount). Talk to your friends, take a moment to do something fun, don't stress yourself into an early grave. Okay that's my little rant over, I hope you have a great rest of your week, and take care!

Ps. Just a quick message, especially if there are any younger people reading this. I want to make it explicitly clear that the point of these last two chapters is not that you should stay in a bad relationship or forgive someone just because they apologize to you afterwards. I hope it did not come across like that, because what I wanted to say is that sometimes even the healthiest couple can have disagreements and do things they regret, and that communication and honesty is the key. I tried to show someone being immensely stressed and reacting in terrible way, but then being truly sorry and apologizing. If someone is manipulating your feelings, or if they start hitting you, you should leave. I just wanted to put that in black and white because, well, I feel it's important to have it said.


	24. Let it snow

**Let it snow**

* * *

Alexander snuggled closer to John the moment he woke up. The other boy's warmth wrapped around him like a second blanket, and he sighed contently. John's arms were tightly folded around Alexander, close enough that he could feel the movement of the other boy's chest as he slept on. It was as if he was scared Alexander would suddenly disappear.  
Alexander turned to lie on his side and closed his eyes again. It was still early morning, he thought drowsily, there was no need to get up yet. He couldn't quite recall what day of the week it was, and his brain was too sluggish to be of any help. He didn't particular care either, not when he was snugged up and comfy in the safety of John's arms. Nothing could touch him here.

Except for the person launching himself on the bed.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" John screamed as he woke up to a full fledged assault. Alexander was torn from his arms by whoever had jumped in their bed, and the world turned into a flurry of limbs and pillows. Alexander hissed as an arm hit him in the head, and laughter rang through the room. He finally blinked the sleep out of his eyes and found himself staring at a grinning Lafayette, who'd all but jumped in top of him and John.  
Quick as a weasel Alexander moved to slap his arm, but Laf was faster, catching him and flipping him onto his back. Unfortunately for Laf this gave John a chance to compose himself, and the boy wrapped his arms around Lafayette neck and pulled him of Alexander.  
"Ha!" John exclaimed as he dragged Lafayette down onto the mattress, "I got yo–"  
He was interrupted as Herc sprinted into the room and dove onto the bed, laughingly pulling John of his boyfriend and violently tickling him in the side.  
John was rendered immobile, pleading for Hercules mercy. Alexander and Laf took the opportunity and moved simultaneously towards their opponents. With absolutely no warning an enthusiastic wrestling match broke out between the four. Under the hurricane of limbs, laughter and annoyed squeals Alexander couldn't even begin to tell who was who. So he grabbed a pillow and aimed at anything and everything that was moving. A decent tactic, though maybe not the most dignified.

"What was that for?" Alexander groaned when they'd all become too exhausted to continue. "You can't attack a man sleeping in peace!"  
Lafayette just laughed, his head hanging over the edge of Alexander's bed.  
" _Il neige mon ami. Il neige beaucoup,_ " he sighed contently. "It's finally snowing."  
Hercules chuckled softly.  
"He opened our– _his_ curtains and started to jump around like a little baby. He ran in here before I could stop him."  
Alexander and John exchanged looks at the possessive pronoun, but decided to let it go. Hercules seemed to have noticed his mistake anyways, and looked horrified.  
"Maybe we should let him outside," Alexander muttered, giving Herc a chance to relax. "He can run around in a frenzy and then he might calm down."  
John giggled at his words, then carefully extracted himself from the tangles of bodies.  
"I feel like I need to see this amazing frozen water for myself," he said. "Either it has improved a lot since last winter, or there's some exaggeration going on here."  
He pulled the string to lift the curtain. Laf twisted to see his reaction, accidentally kicking Hercules' head in the process.  
Before Hercules had time to retaliate John spun around with wide eyes.  
"It's beautiful."  
Alexander, both interested in seeing the snow and avoid getting caught between Hercules and Lafayette's potential fight jumped out of the bed and stumbled to John side.  
"Oooh."

The ground outside their window was covered in a thick layer of snow. The sky was crystal blue and the sun shined merrily, making the flakes sparkle like thousands of diamonds. The nearby trees were heavily covered as well, and Alexander had a sudden and uncontrollable urge to run outside. John tapped him on his shoulder.

Alexander turned, seeing John grin at him as the winter sun streamed into their room.  
"Do you wanna build a snowman?" John sang.  
Hercules groaned at the reference, but Alexander could barely contain a squeal of excitement.  
"YES!" he shouted, and the two shared one look before running out out the room.  
"Hey wait for me!" Lafayette shouted after them and bolted out too, leaving Hercules muttering about how the outside temperature was currently very similar to that prefered by penguins and polar bears.

Despite Hercules' complaints he was just as excited as the others the moment they got outside.  
"This is amazing!" Lafayette said, mesmerized, as he touched the snow. Then he laughingly threw himself on the ground and started to make a snow angel.  
"Uuumop, LAF!" Alexander spluttered as snow spewed everywhere.  
"Oh what the hell," Hercules laughed and joined Lafayette.

Soon four beautiful angels marked the pristine snow. Well, three angels and some sort of vaguely human shaped dent. John was guilty of the last, as he was currently rolling around the ground and screaming at the top of his lungs.  
"There's snow in my jacket! There's snow in my jacket!"  
"Gee, I wonder why."  
"Shut up Mulligan!"  
Hercules smirked to himself, and Alexander assumed the solemn duty of helping John up.  
"You look like an angry kitten," he giggled as he brushed some white powder of John's shoulder.  
"I have snow dripping down my back Alex," John snarled.  
"Well, maybe if you hadn't been frolicking around in the snow you wouldn't have," Lafayette remarked.  
"I wasn't _frolicking_. Beside you did the exact same thing, how come you aren't also involuntarily doing the ice bucket challenge?"  
Lafayette struck a pose, somehow managing to look elegant despite the clumps of snow stuck to his back.  
"Because, my dear Laurens," he said as he arrogantly brushed back his hair, forcing the sun to shine down on his face, "I have skills."  
John threw a snowball at his face.

When John had decided he was no longer going to die of hypothermia and had also stopped complaining about melted snow, they moved on to what they'd actually come out to do. Building a snowman.  
"You would think, as this is like a childrens task, it wouldn't be that hard," Alexander grunted as he and John combined efforts to lift one huge snowball on top of another. They missed, and it rolled off the base and cracked on the ground.  
"Dammit!" Alexander yelled, followed by a string of much fouler curse words.  
"Wow Hamilton, stop shitting out a clock will you?" Lafayette laughed.  
His request was met with dead silence.  
"Um," John finally said. "I mean I too am upset that our last ten minutes of work was obliterated, but what the _hell_ does that mean?"  
Lafayette started blankly at him.  
"Shitting out a clock?" he finally said, as if trying to fresh up John's memory.  
John started back at him.  
"No?" he said.  
"Have you never heard of–" Laf began, but then he furrowed his brows. " _Chier une pendule_ ," he mumbled under his breath. "Crap! Eh, that's not an expression in English, is it? You don't say shitting out a clock?"  
"No!" Hercules exclaimed. "What on earth does that even mean?"  
"It means that he needs to calm down."  
John buried his head in his hands, sobbing with laughter.  
"So he needs to stop _shitting out a clock_?"  
Lafayette avoided his friends' eyes. "Let's just build this damn snowman," he muttered.  
Hercules chuckled and threw his arm around his boyfriend, whispering something in his ear. Lafayette smiled slightly and mumbled something back, which had Hercules glaring at him and not so subtly glancing at Alexander and John.  
"I don't know what you're saying," John stated as he started forming another snowball. "And I really don't think I want to know either."  
Hercules looked very relieved. Lafayette just smirked.

"It's hideous. I love it," John said as he gave the snowman stones for eyes. Their creation grinned widely back at them, with a mouth made of the most curved stick they'd managed to find. The whole thing was lopsided, and Alexander was pretty sure the arms differed at least seven inches in size. He couldn't help but to agree with John though. It may look terrible, but he loved it.  
"I don't know Laurens, I think it kind of resembles you," Hercules said.  
"Shut up!"  
"Well, seeing as it's my first snowman ever I think this is pretty good," Lafayette said as he nicked Hercules beanie and put it on top of the snowman's head.  
"Wait, your first ever snowman?" ALexander said bewildered as he registered his friend's words. "What?"  
Lafayette shrugged. "I'm from Haute-Loire, dude. We don't do snow there."  
"That's… different," John finally said, in lack of a better response.  
"Yup," Alexander added as he bent down to scoop up some more snow.  
Then he looked up at Laf with a mischievous smile.  
"So would you say it's been a _cool_ experience?"

John tackled him down into the snow, quickly followed by Hercules and Lafayette. Alexander protested his innocence as best as he could, but the others would have none of it. In defense he flung his half-formed snowball into the air, which just so managed to hit Hercules' face. The guy retaliated, but missed Alexander and hit John. Which made John act out his own revenge.  
Before long the four were engaged in the wildest, most epic snowball fight any of them had ever seen. It was even worth all the snow that got inside their jackets.

* * *

 _Il neige mon ami. Il neige beaucoup.  
_ It's snowing, my friend. It's snowing a lot.

 _Chier une pendule  
_ Shitting out a clock (literal translation)  
Making a mountain out of a molehill (equivalent idiom)

Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading this chapter. I hope I got the French idiom right, I read that it's thing you say in France, but if there is anyone here that's reading this and going "What the actual hell is that expression" then please tell me. I really hope I got it right though, otherwise this is going to be really awkward. Also thanks to pencilsketchanime on wattpad for helping me out with the english idiom and french, it's very appreciated.  
I hope you have a nice week, and that you have time to enjoy the snow if there is any in your country, and the warmth if you live in the southern hemisphere. Take care!


	25. Snacks and gifts

**Snacks and gifts**

* * *

Alexander, John, Hercules and Lafayette wandered around the stalls, breathing in the smell of warm drinks, spices and confectionary. It was December the 24th, and the Christmas Eve market was booming. All around them were people laughing, talking and joking. The day was crisp and cold, and there was an air of anticipation all around them.

"Look! Burnt almonds!" John called, pointing towards a red and white stall. Sure enough, an old man was selling the sugary treat out of an enormous vat. John darted off, quickly returning to the others with a white paper bag.  
"Oh I love these," Lafayette said and popped a handful in his mouth.  
"Hey those were mine!"  
"Yeah sure." Lafayette rolled his eyes. "As if you were going to eat all of them by yourself."  
John huffed, but offered the bag to Hercules and Alexander too. Lafayette grinned at him, fully aware that John had planned on sharing them. Even he couldn't eat that much candy in one go.  
Alexander immediately took a handful, but Hercules looked suspiciously at the almonds for a long time and it wasn't until Lafayette assured him that it was a normal european treat that he finally nibbled at one. From the look on his face, he was pleasantly surprised.

The four strolled along the fair after that, nicking the almond bag from each other and pointing at things in random stalls. Lafayette tried on a ridiculous hat in one of them, adorned with jingling bells and blinking christmas trees. This led to him having both his fashion sense and eyesight seriously questioned by the others. It was only after Hercules informed him that he'd never go out with him in public again if he bought it that he put it down; even then it took him almost ten minutes to make the decision.

Ironically enough, Laf was the one to try and pull John and Alexander away from a tiny blue stall shortly afterwards. The young girl behind it's desk sold all sorts of fancy books and pens, and Alexander was particularly entranced by a long swooping quill. Rationally, he knew he had no use of such a pen – he didn't even own ink. But he'd be damned if he didn't want it anyway. The lightness of the feather and the speckled pattern was insanely beautiful. It made his hands itch with desire to try it out.  
John was equally captured by the numerous sketchbooks, and was looking fondly at one bound in engraved leather. Even after Alexander had finally decided that he didn't need the quill, John was still holding the book, weighing it in his hands.  
"Come on," Lafayette sighed impatiently. "With the way you are stroking that book it's gonna expect you to take it out for dinner soon."  
John glared at him, but put the book down.  
"I already have sketchbooks," he declared wistfully, looking at the book as if it was his firstborn child.  
"Wow," Alexander laughed. "If you want it _that_ much I can buy it for you."  
"Nah," John said with a smile. "It's cool."  
"Right then," Alexander said and nudged him in the side. "Should we do some actual Christmas shopping?"  
"Yes," Lafayette said thoughtfully, eyeing the beautiful book.

The four decided to split up after that, to allow for the possibility of getting each other gifts. They'd already decided they would buy two for each person, one small to put in the stocking and one under the tree. That way, they'd reasoned, they'd get a decent Christmas Day even though their families weren't visiting. Lafayette would go up to meet his relatives on Boxing Day instead, and Hercules would leave town on the evening of Christmas Day. John weren't leaving until the morning of the 27th, because his sister hadn't been able to get away from school until then. Alexander was coming with him, as John'd pulled him aside one night and invited him along since Alexander wouldn't be celebrating with family anyways. As an orphan he only had one living relative; his cousin, who was not too keen on celebrating the holiday with him. Alexander found the feeling was mutual. He was much more interested in spending it with John, though he had to admit he was also a bit nervous. They hadn't yet decided if they were going to tell John's parents about their relationship, a detail John had conveniently forgotten to mention to them. Alexander supposed they would figure it out eventually. Right now, the more pressing matter was finishing up the gifts.

As he looked around the market for suitable objects he mulled over the list in his head. One small and one big packet for each of his friends, to a – as Lafayette had said – "reasonable price". The guy himself would get a macaron making kit, as he always complained about how the American version just wasn't quite right but he didn't have the equipment to make them himself. Alexander just needed to get something for his stocking. John was the opposite problem, as Alexander had found a tiny robotic turtle in the store the other day. It was barely an inch big and supposedly crawled across the floor, which would obviously be the perfect gift. Just the thought of John's face as he opened it made Alexander smile, so his stocking was all set and done. Hercules was another thing entirely. Alexander had taken a chance and bought him a pair of new headphones, which was convenient as Herc had manage to snip the cord to his last week, as he'd thought it was a piece of string. How someone could be that mistaken was lost to Alexander. At least it made his Christmas shopping a lot easier.

"Chocolates! Come and taste some chocolates!" someone called. Alexander turned, seeing a young woman standing in a stall trying to catch the attention of passersby. Intrigued, he went closer.

"Hello," the woman said with a smile. "Would you like to taste some pralines? We have pistachio, milk, coffee."  
"Sure," Alexander answered. She smiled at him and gave him a wooden platter, on which small samples of chocolates were standing. Alexander took one, and it melted in his mouth, rich in flavor.  
"Oh, wow. That's very good."  
"It is, isn't it? Oh you should try the espresso as well!"  
So Alexander did.  
"It's delicious."  
"Of course, and it would make a great gift as well." She winked at him.  
"Actually," Alexander said slowly, realizing he still had no plan for Hercules' stocking. He'd thought about buying some sewing stuff, but he honestly knew nothing about those things. "Do you have like a box of it?"  
"Yeah sure," she said, slightly taken aback that he'd actually taken her suggestion. "What flavors would you like?"  
Alexander eyed the samples displayed.  
"Could you like… pick some good ones? It's for my friend, eh, he's a freshman if that helps."  
"Freshman, huh?" the girl asked as she began to pick chocolates for him "You don't go to King's college do you?"  
Alexander stared at her.  
"I do. How did you know?"  
She laughed warmly, a sound as rich as the candy she was selling. "Just a guess, I go there myself. My names Theodosia, I'm a freshman too."  
"Oh, nice. I'm Alexander. Alexander Hamilton."  
Her brows furrowed at the mention of his name, but it was over so quickly that Alexander wasn't sure if it'd really happened.  
"It's nice to meet you," she said sincerely, taking his outstretched hand. "Oh, here is your chocolate, I hope he likes them."  
She gave him a box, skillfully wrapped with red ribbons. Alexander took it with a smile.  
"Thanks. Well, merry Christmas to you."  
"You too, maybe I'll see you around in school!"

She waved at him as he walked away, and Alexander was happy that he'd managed to get at least one gift done. He couldn't believe he'd never seen this Theodosia before though, especially of she was in his year group. Although he didn't like to admit it, she was pretty enough that he would've remembered her. Maybe she just hung out in different circles.

The next stop he made was at a little cot selling artsy stuff. Alexander smiled to himself as he picked out a set of brushes and a travel sized watercolor kit. John would love them, he was sure of it. He just hoped he got the right kind of brushes, but the woman selling them assured him it would be fine. Otherwise John would probably find a way to use them anyways, right? Surely there couldn't be that many kinds of different brushes.

Alexander was so lost in his mental debate about art equipment that he almost walked right past the green stall. He only stopped because he thought he heard Laf. He turned around, trying to spot his friend, but he was nowhere in sight. Eventually his eyes landed on the little stall and he almost choked on laughter.  
There was a small Eiffel tower statue standing amongst a bunch of other souvenir-esque things. It was lit up in blue, white, and red, and it was current singing the national anthem of France. Still trying to not burst out in laughter Alexander immediately purchased it. Apparently he'd managed to get everyone's gifts.

The group spent the rest of Christmas Eve back in their dorm, enjoying a quiet meal together. They decided to just go to there rooms afterwards, so that everyone could "get stuff done".  
"Which means that you should stay the hell out of my room so I can wrap up your presents, got it?" Lafayette clarified.  
The others nodded.  
"It was quite clear from the beginning," Hercules chuckled. "There was no need to spell it out."  
Lafayette rolled his eyes. "Just making sure you stay out of my room – the _whole_ night."  
Hercules pouted, and John groaned loudly.  
"I would say get a room, but it seems like you need at least two. So I'm going to mine instead." He looked at Alexander. "You can't come in either, or I swear I will wrap you up too."  
Alexander raised his hands in surrender. "Got it."

In reality he was quite glad at how things worked out, because it turned out that wrapping presents took a lot longer than he thought. He was certain it was past midnight when he snuck out to deliver his friends' gifts. At least none of them saw him. Which, he assumed, was probably cause they were all sleeping. Alexander decided to follow their example, and curled up in his bed in anticipation of Christmas morning.

* * *

Hello guys! I hope you all have an awesome break (if you're on it, otherwise I hope you have an awesome day). To all my Swedish people who celebrate today on Christmas Eve - god jul! And if you're not Swedish but also celebrate today then merry Christmas! If you celebrate it on the 25th (which I know is the regular thing to do) then I hope you have a great night, and if you don't celebrate anything right now then I hope you have a great night too. Also happy holidays to everyone who celebrates other things at this time of year, I hope you have an amazing time! Thanks for reading, take care!


	26. Christmas Day

**Christmas Day**

* * *

Seconds after Alexander had opened his eyes he jumped out of his bed. Not even bothering to change out of his pyjamas he bolted straight for the living room, feeling a rush of excitement course through his body. It was finally Christmas.

"Alex!" John shouted giddily as Alexander skidded to a stop in front of him. The boy greeted him with a kiss on the nose, his eyes sparkling.  
"It's Christmas!"  
Alexander laughed and pulled him in for a hug. "I know that. You're basically flying."  
John grinned at him, exaltation practically radiating of him.  
"We're just waiting for Laf now," Hercules said from where he was sprawled on the sofa. "We figured we'd wait for everyone to wake up before opening our gifts." His eyes darted to their stockings, hanging on the wall and full of presents.

"I'm already here, mon amour." Lafayette said sleepily from his doorway. He pulled his arms over his head, stretching, before turning to them with a wide smile.  
"Merry Christmas guys!"  
"Merry Christmas!" they chorused.

"So who goes first?" John asked, eyeing his stocking like a dog eying a jar of peanut butter.  
"You can," Lafayette said with a small smile. "Before you start drooling."  
John glared at him, but refrained from commenting in favour of attacking his stocking.  
"Okay this one is from… Herc."  
He tore open the packet, revealing fluffy socks.  
"Sweet, thanks dude!" He immediately put them on, wiggling his toes in satisfaction. "My feet were getting cold."  
Hercules smiled softly. "No problem."  
John continued his gift opening spree, tearing into a red square-shaped one.  
"That's from me," Laf said. "I forgot the sticker."  
John hummed, grabbing hold of an edge and tearing the paper of. Out fell a beautiful, leather bound sketch book – the same he'd been eying yesterday. His face fell.  
"Oh my God," he whispered, "Laf you– you should have."  
Lafayette smiled a small, self congratulatory smile.  
"Don't mention it."  
John cradle the notebook to his chest, his eyes unusually shiny.  
"Thank you so much."  
Lafayette just waved his hand at him. "Open Alexander's now, before he bursts with anticipation."  
Alexander shoved him, but had a hard time denying it. He was basically jumping up and down as he waited for John to grab his gift.

"Oh wow Alex," John laughed as he revealed the little turtle. "That's adorable."  
"Try it!" Alexander giggled. "Look it walks around."  
He leaned over Herc to flip the little switch on the turtle's side, allowing it to walk across the floor.  
John smiled fondly at it. "I love it Alex, thanks. I think I'll name her, eh, Alexa!"  
"Alexa?" Lafayette smirked. "Hmm I wonder where you got that name from."  
"Shut up!" John laughed. "She will join George Shellton in the family."  
Alexa choose that moment to walk right into Hercules leg.

Laf decided that he'd get to go next, and immediately grabbed Alexander's gift. As he unwrapped it he accidentally pressed the button to turn it on, and they all jumped as it started blaring the French anthem.  
"Holy shit Alex," he choked out, falling to the floor and shaking with laughter. "That's hilarious."  
"And look," Hercules said, pointing towards the lights. "It even shines in the American colors!"  
Lafayette threw the wrapping paper at him.

"Well this is fancy," Lafayette noted and pulled out a gift adorned with so many ribbons you could hardly see it. "I'm guessing it's from you, Herc?"  
Hercules nodded, looking down at his hands.  
"Oh." Lafayette said as he opened it to reveal a box of candies. His eyes almost teared up. "Oh wow."  
"Do you like it?" Hercules asked nervously. "They're like French Christmas candies, I thought you said you–"  
"It's amazing," Lafayette interrupted him. "Like it's, it's– I love you so much."  
Hercules smiled shyly at him, and Lafayette almost tackled him to the floor with a hug.  
"Well this is a lot of pressure for me now," John complained. "Why do you all have to give such good gifts?"  
"We're just plain amazing," Alexander smirked. "But Laf, quit snogging Mulligan and open John's now."  
Lafayette, surprisingly, obeyed.  
John's gift turned out great as well.  
"That's fantastic," Lafayette laughed.  
"I thought so," John grinned.  
Laf held up two potholders for the others to see. On them the words "My kitchen, my rules." were embroidered.  
"In case you ever forget," he smirked.

It turned out, as Lafayette declared he was done, that Alexander and Hercules couldn't agree on who'd get to go next.  
Just do rock, paper, scissors," Lafayette whined, "I want breakfast."  
Hercules rolled his eyes, but didn't argue.  
"Rock paper scissors shoot!" the two yelled as Alexander threw paper and Hercules scissors.  
"Dammit! Okay you go then."  
"Thank you," Hercules smirked. "Okay so this is from Laf."  
Laf had gotten him a candied apple, which seemed to make him incredibly happy.  
"How on earth did you know? Oh– but that was so long ago!"  
Lafayette shrugged. "I've got a good memory."  
"Care to explain?" John asked.  
Hercules carefully placed the apple back in its box before answering. "Well, when I was young we had this family tradition. Every Christmas morning the children would get a candied apple, and we would eat them while the adults prepared the gifts. It was really cozy and such a nice time, so it's kind of associated with Christmas for me. I think I mentioned it to Laf sometime last summer," He glanced at his boyfriend, who nodded in confirmation. "But I didn't know he remembered it."  
"Of course I did," Lafayette said softly.

Eventually Hercules continued opening his gifts, picking up a chalk pen with an attached brush from John.  
"That's neat! Thanks!"  
"I thought it might be handy, you're always leave those chalk thingys all over the house."  
Hercules stuck his tongue out at him and went to open Alexander's box of chocolates.  
"At this rate I'll be obese before we even get to dinner," he laughed. "But thanks!"  
"And now it's my turn!" Alexander yelled and threw himself over his stocking.  
"Geez," Hercules mutter. "I was trying to show appreciation but sure."  
Alexander pretend he didn't hear him.  
"So this one is from Laf. It's a…" He tore at the paper. "A pen! Thank you"  
Indeed, it was a fancy ink pen, elegantly made and with a silvery inscription on the side.  
" _Creatio ex nihilo_ ," he read.  
"It means creation out of nothing" Lafayette answered before being asked. "I thought it was fitting."  
"It is," Alexander said. "Thanks."  
He pulled another gift out if the stocking, but John protested.  
"No! Open Herc's first!"  
"Eh okay, sure," Alexander said, confused. Still he put the gift to the side and took the last one instead.

Inside of it was a thermos mug.  
"For that coffee addiction of yours," Hercules smirked.  
"Oh shut up Mulligan! At least I'm not having energy drinks."  
"Oh God." Lafayette shuddered. "Imagine Hamilton on energy drinks."  
"Nope nope nopetiy nope nope."  
"Exactly," Alexander laughed. "You should be grateful. Can I open yours now John?"  
"Sure," John said uncertainly. "I don't know if you'll like it though."  
After assuring him that he would Alexander grabbed the gift. It was small and rectangular, and he wondered what was inside that would make John so nervous.

It turned out to be a photo album.  
"Oh that's cool! Thanks."  
John shook his head.  
"Open it." His voice was shaking.  
Alexander did, and was stuck speechless.

It was filled with hundreds of photos, so many they covered every single page. There were photos of him and John having lunch together, eating ice cream, hanging out in the park, studying. There were pictures of him when he was curled up in the sofa, and pictures of George Shellton in his suit. There were photos from the school play, and from the Halloween party. Every now and then there were sketches, of him and John together, or of just Alexander, or of all four of them. Just small doodles and snapshots, all dated. The times spanned from the beginning of the school year all the way to the present. At the very last page was a note in John's handwriting.

 _This time has been better than any gift I could've have wished for. Thank you so much.  
_ _Love you, John_

It made Alexander tear up.

Eventually he managed to compose himself again. After assuring a quite horrified Lafayette and Hercules, who hadn't seen the inside of the album, that he was okay they sat down to have breakfast. Well, after he'd also hugged John for about ten minutes.  
"Can we open the other gifts now?" Hercules said through a mouth full of porridge.  
"You haven't even finished your food yet, and we literally just opened our stockings," Lafayette remarked.  
Hercules made his best puppy face at him, "Please?"  
Lafayette visibly melted. "Fine. Just finish your food first. Eh, if that's okay with everyone else?"  
John and Alexander looked at each other.  
"I don't think anyone is gonna say no to gifts," Alexander said.  
John nodded rapidly.

"So how are we doing this then?" Alexander asked when they were seated on the floor next to John's paper Christmas tree.  
"How about we open one each and then keep going until we're done?" John suggested.  
"Sounds good to me," Hercules said.  
"Yeah, and I'm starting this time!" Alexander said and nicked a random gift from under the tree.  
"Sweet it's to me! From, eh, Herc _and_ Laf?" He grinned at them. "Are you giving _joined_ Christmas gifts now?"  
"Just open it," Hercules drawled.  
Alexander did, tearing at the paper.  
"This is impossible!" He finally got it of, only to reveal a second layer.  
"Are you kidding me?"  
Lafayette just grinned expectantly at him.

Eventually he got through, and held up his gift. It was similar to the sketch book given to John, just much, much thicker. It was bound in dark red leather, engraved with a pattern so intricate he felt like he could stare at it for hours. He carefully turned it over to its spine, his eyes tracing over the gilded cursive.

 _The Lord Of The Rings  
_ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_ _The Fellowship Of The Ring  
_ –  
 _The Two Towers  
_ –  
 _The Return Of The King  
_ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
_ _J.R.R Tolkien_

"Thank you so much," Alexander whispered, staring down at the beautiful book. He opened it, mindful of the spine, and looked at the pages. They were super thin and tinted yellow, like aged parchment. Every page was surrounded by a little border made of the most detailed leafs. It was gorgeous.  
"I think he likes it, "Lafayette said and grinned at Hercules.  
Hercules nodded and raised his hand for a high five.

"While you two are celebrating your victory I'm going to open my gifts," John said. He reached into the pile of presents and rummaged through it until he found one with his name on.  
"This one is from Laf," he said and straightened up. "Oh wow it's heavy."  
Lafayette smirked at him.  
"Time to hit the gym, ami?"  
"I think it's time to hit your head."  
Despite his threats, John opted for opening the gift instead of slamming it into is friend. Out of the paper came a big white box, containing a desk lamp.  
"Look it twists like this," Laf said, unable to contain himself any longer. He grabbed the lamp and spun the metal rod holding the bulb in a circle. "So you don't have to complain about not seeing your drawings anymore."  
John blinked. "That's– that's so nice of you."  
"I've been known to have my moments."  
"Oh and you can also charge your phone here, "Lafayette added and pointed at a jack in the lamp's base. "It's like, multifunctional."  
"Its _awesome_! " John said with a grin. "Thank you."  
"I really want to open Laf's gift to me now, they seem to be speactacular," Hercules muttered. He reached into the pile and pulled one out.  
"Oh, this is from Alexander," he said disappointedly. Then he looked up, and seemed to realize what he'd said. "I didn't mean it like that! I'm sure it's really great!"  
Alexander waved him off. "Just open it," he chuckled.

At least Hercules seemed very happy with his headphones, despite the fact that they weren't from Laf. He immediately hung them around his neck, smiling like a child on Christmas Day. Which, Alexander supposed, he kind of was. A big child.

"Now it's my turn!" Lafayette declared. He grabbed one of the presents and turned it over to find the label.  
"Why is there so many many ribbons," He muttered. "Oh here– to Lafayette from John."  
"Mmhm," John nodded, looking excitedly at the gift.  
Lafayette noticed his stare and opened it agonizingly slowly, drawing out John's wait. Finally the paper fell off.  
"It's a cooking book!"  
"Yuop."  
"That's great." He immediately started flipping through the pages. "Look, they even have a recipe for Marquise au Chocolat!"  
"For what?" Alexande laughed. "Isn't that you name?"  
"It's a dessert," Lafayette answered absentmindedly, still looking through the book. "I'll make it for you sometime."  
"Cannibalism," Hercules muttered. "The Marquise de Lafayette eats the Marquise de Chocolat.  
"It's Marquise _au_ Chocolat! And my name is Marquis!"  
"It's gonna be Marquise _au Revoir_ ," Hercules shot back. "Cause I'm leaving this conversation."

After Lafayette and Hercules were given time to calm down from the burns the gift opening session continued. They decided to skip over Alexander, much to his dismay, as he'd "already gotten two gifts".  
"That's no fair!"  
"Oh yes it is," John said with a grin as he started opening his gift from Alexander.  
"Of course _you're_ gonna think that!"  
"I very much do," John said and took out his new brush set. He gasped. "They are beautiful!"  
"Are they? "Alexander asked uncertainly. "Do they work though? I didn't know what kind I was supposed to get but the lady said they would be fine for–"  
"Shhhhh," John said and put his finger over Alexander's lips. "Yes. They are perfect. Thank you."  
Alexander slumped back, satisfied with his success.  
"Now I get to go!" Hercules announced and grabbed another packet. "This one's from John."  
"It feels very hard," he muttered as he turned the gift over. "Don't–" he added, "misinterpret that."  
Lafayette snorted.  
"I think it's a book," Hercules said, trying to gloss over his innuendo.  
"Aha!" He exclaimed as the gift revealed itself. "It's a model book!"  
The cover of the book showed different suits and dresses, and it was titled _101_ _patterns and inspirations_.  
Hercules looked up at his friend. "Thanks John!"  
"No problem," John said, unable to hide the small happy smile on his face. "I thought you'd like it."  
"I do."

The next gift went to Laf, who suspiciously squeezed it.  
"It's very soft, I assume it's from Herc." He spun it around. "Yeah look I was right."  
"Stop fondling it and show us what it is," Alexander laughed.  
It turned out to be long and fluffy scarf.  
"Neat! Did you make it?"  
Hercules shrugged. "Yeah, I was looking for one in the shops but I couldn't find any so…"  
"Fantastic," Lafayette said and leaned over to hug him. "I love it."  
Just to really show his appreciation he immediately wrapped it around himself.  
"That's gonna get very warm," John noted.  
"Meh, New York is always so chilly anyways. Now open yours, Alex."  
"If I can find it," Alexander muttered as he looked through the pile. Finally he turned over one that was very clearly the largest of the bunch.  
"Hey this one's for me!"  
"Of course you'd get the biggest one," Hercules complained.  
John smirked at him. "Your jealousy is showing."  
"I'm not jealous!"  
"Sure," Alexander muttered and lifted it up so he could open it.  
"John what could possibly be this big."  
"I guess you have to open it to see."

It took him almost five minutes to unwrap, it was packed so tightly. But eventually he did, and found a large fluffy face grinning at him.  
"It's a dog," he gasped, lifting it out of the paper. "Its humongous!"  
It was. The large brown mass of fluff was a stuffed animal, at least four feet tall. It's dark eyes looked happily at Alexander, as if overjoyed to seem him.  
"Oh my god." Alexander let himself fall forward, wrapping his arms around the dog."It's so soft!"  
Hercules slowly extended his hand, petting the dog. "Its just a big ball of floof."  
"Yes, and it's my floof," Alexander said. He instantly brightened. "That shall be his name!"  
"Floof?" John laughed, "Sure, I'll take it."  
"Nenne, George Shellton, Alexa, and Floof," Hercules counted. "This seems to be growing trend."  
"Yep," Lafayette said, "but Floof does not need to grow anymore."  
Alexander snuggled up to the dogs tummy. "Honestly I think it could double as a bed too."  
John grinned happily at him.

Hercules then proceeded to open his gift from Laf. It turned out to be a beautiful backpack, almost black but with a hint of blue and purple.  
"I like it a lot, thanks Laf."  
Lafayette said nothing, but just looked at the bag. Hercule took the hint and opened it.  
"Oh there's so many compartments, look it even has a space for headphones! And it's so big."  
He stuck his hands down the back of it, and his expression immediately changed. He gasped and withdrew his hand, a flash of metal visible through his fingers.  
Neither of the others could see what he was looking at, though Alexander thought he got a glint of a chain.  
Then Hercules violently tackled Lafayette to the floor and kissed him. Hard.  
"Euuuuggh," John and Alexander moaned, but there was no actual annoyance to it. Whatever Lafayette had given Hercules it was obviously very, very emotional. So they let the two have their moment.

"Final gift then," Lafayette said as he grabbed it. His hair was still a mess from Hercules' attack, but neither John nor Alexander felt like they should comment on it. Instead they just let Lafayette excitedly tear into the red paper around Alexander's last gift.  
"Oh no you didn't" Lafayette exclaimed. "Now you're forcing me to try making macarons?"  
"Indeed I am," Alexander grinned. "You always seem so upset about the American versions.  
"Yeah, cause they suck."  
"So now you can make ones that don't."  
"But it's so hard," Lafayette sighed. "Oh well it should be fun, thanks."  
"Maybe there's a recipe in that new cooking book of yours," Hercules remarked, grabbing it and flipping through it.  
"Here! It says: The Finest French Macarons."  
"Right," Lafayette laughed, "just don't expect any masterpieces the first time around.  
"We won't," Alexander sighed contently and leaned back on his stuffed dog.  
"So we've finished all the gifts now?" John said, nudging Alex's side so he too could use the dog as a headrest.  
"Mmhmm," Lafayette confirmed.  
"Sweet."

There was a moment of silence as all of them looked at each other, their faces illuminated by the soft lights of their dorm. Somewhere in the distance a bell chimed.  
"Merry Christmas guys," John said with a smile.  
"Merry Christmas!"

* * *

Merry Christmas! I hope you liked this continuation of yesterday's Christmas saga. Maybe it will get some of you in the Christmas spirit. Well, have a great day and enjoy the holidays, whichever you are celebrating! Take care!


	27. Light up the sky

**Light up the sky**

* * *

"It's so cold," John complained as they walked out of their dorm.  
"Hmm," Hercules said. "Half past eleven at night, in December, in New York. Nope can't think of any reasons why it might be cold."  
John made a face at him.  
"Anyways it's gonna be worth it," Lafayette added. "Fireworks are beautiful."  
Alexander nodded in silent agreement. He'd always found them dazzling, that split second in which the pitch black sky went alight with colours. They were almost magical.

Lafayette entertained the other's with a story about Nenne as they walked to the field on which the seniors would shoot off fireworks in celebration of the new year. It seemed like a huge campus event, considering how many students were making their way over there. In reality it was in no way officiated by the school, and Alexander was quite sure the staff would not be too happy about it. He hoped they wouldn't mind too much though. At this rate the whole college would be there soon. Which was a bit strange, considering how many parties must've been put on pause just so they could watch the show. He supposed no one wanted to miss out on fireworks.  
"So you see," Lafayette continued his story. "She hates the bangs from the fireworks so we usually try to stow her way in a soundproofed room, but she also loves the colours and lights so she keeps running back out. Do you see the problem?"  
He made a dramatic pause, giving the others time to nod affirmatively.  
"So last year my grandma made her costumed earmuffs," Lafayette said with laughter bubbling in his throat. "They even had party hats attached to them!"  
The four exploded with laughter, the thought of the puppy clad in _new years themed earmuffs_ a bit too much.

"Well you seem to be enjoying yourself."  
Alexander turned, and saw Angelica.  
"Why is it that you alway turn up out of the blue," he laughed.  
"Just a talent of mine," she smiled. "Though I guess at this time of day it's more like turning up out of the black." She gestured at the night time sky.  
Alexander groaned. "I guess."  
"Maybe you should make that your new year's resolution; to stop with the puns," Eliza said, materializing at her sister's side.  
"Oh shut up, everyone loves my jokes." Angelica's eyes darted to her sister's hand. "Hey, where did the champagne go?"  
Lafayette brightened. "You brought champange?"  
"I thought I did."  
Eliza shrugged. "Thomas has it."  
"Oh God, there'll be nothing left."  
John coughed pointedly. "Why would you give champagne to him?"  
Angelica rolled her eyes. "He's not _that_ bad you know. I thought you'd warm up to each other after the Halloween party."  
John and Alexander shared a glance of mutual understanding, but Lafayette suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Hercules, of course, noticed this.  
"Well what's up with you all of a sudden?"  
"Eh well, I guess I kind of never told you this but eh–"  
"Go on," Alexander joked. "We won't judge you."  
"Me and Thomas, like, met on the train and he wasn't that bad."  
"WHAT?" It was impossible to discern who'd yelled it, due to everyone making noises of wild confusion.  
"It's not like we're friends!" Lafayette added quickly. "I don't like him _that_ much," he glanced at Angelica. "Sorry."  
"No problem."  
"But yeah we had the same train when I went back here after Christmas and we couldn't really choose to not talk to each other, you know? He's a bit less of a cocky bastard when there's not a bunch of people around."  
Angelica chuckled knowingly.  
"Huh," Hercules said. "I guess you learn something new every day."  
"At least you admit he is a cocky bastard," Alexander grumbled.  
Lafayette held up his hands and grinned. "I won't blatantly lie to you."  
Angelica was the first to laugh.

"Look here he comes," Eliza said and pointed off into the crowd.  
Indeed, a tall guy in a suspiciously purple coat was making his way over to them, flanked by two others. Alexander privately thought he should start calling them the three musketeers.  
"Hello," Angelica greeted them. "Oh you still have the champagne!"  
"You don't have to sound so surprised," Jefferson drawled. "I haven't even opened it!"  
"I'm surprised," Angelica muttered. "Well that means we can share it."  
Jefferson pretended like it was in this very moment he noticed Alexander and his friends.  
"I'm not sharing with them!"  
"Oh not you too, need I remind you that _I'm_ the one who bought it?"  
Jefferson grumbled something inaudible.  
Burr smirked. "And it's not like sharing a bottle is any worse than a kiss, is it Thomas?"  
"YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO NEVER MENTION THAT AGAIN!"  
Their two groups of friends doubled over in laughter, meanwhile Alexander and Jefferson glared angrily at Burr.  
"Sorry," he said, not sounding very sorry at all.  
"See that could be your new year's resolution," Angelica said, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. "To never bring up _that_ _time_ again."  
"Sure," Burr grinned, crossing his fingers for all to see.  
"But isn't it that if you say your resolution out loud it won't happen?" John asked.  
"Isn't that birthday wishes?" Hercules said.  
And somehow their group found themselves engaged in a lengthy discussion about what wishes follow what rules. They were interrupted, however, but someone cheering.

"Two minutes until 2017 is over!"  
"Oh wow I didn't even realize," Angelica said in surprise, glancing at the clock. "Should we celebrate then?" She took the bottle from Thomas with a smirk.  
"I won't object." Alexander grinned as they passed it along. The drink tasted sweet and sparkled merrily in his mouth. Nearby, someone yelled again.  
"One minute left!" Cheers erupted from all directions.  
In the distance, something whistled. Moments later an explosion of gold sparkled across the sky.  
"That one took off early," Hercules noted.  
"There's always that one person that just can wait," Eliza laughed. "It's like a little sneak peak of what's to come."  
"That's– an incredible optimistic way to look at it," Alexander said.  
Eliza smiled at him. "What can I say? Just trying to bring some positivity into 2018." She giggled. "Maybe that should be my resolution."  
"Perhaps," Angelica said with a fond look at her sister. "I don't think that would be too hard for you."

"Wait are we supposed to do something before the year ends?" Lafayette suddenly asked.  
Hercules laughed and threw his arm around him, the movement causing something around his neck to catch the light from a nearby lamp. Alexander thought he got a glimpse of a chain, but it slipped into darkness before he could see it clearly.  
"Isn't a year just a number though?" Hercules pondered. "A part of eternal time divide into pieces just by chance?" Lafayette laughed ever so slightly.  
"I suppose so," he said softy.  
"How philosophical," John mumbled and moved closer to Alexander. "New year's kiss?" he whispered into his ear.  
Alexander nodded and grabbed his hand.

"Ten!" someone shouted.  
"Nine!" A bright red firework exploded into life.  
"Eight! Seven! Six!" A silver and green one made it company.  
"Five! Four!" The entire field was shouting.  
"Three!" Gold and purple lights rain down on them.  
"Two!" Alexander pulled John closer to him.  
"One!" The sky exploded and John's lips met Alexander's.

The air filled with cheers as the softness of John's mouth brushed against his own. The rapid explosions of hundreds of fireworks drowned his ears as he dug his hands into his boyfriend's hair and pulled him as close as he could. The sweetness of the champagne still coated John's tongue and the taste filled his mouth. Alexander purred. Finally they pulled apart, the lights painting the night sky reflecting in John's eyes.  
"Happy new year Alexander!" he whispered.  
"Happy new year!"

They stole one more kiss, no longer than a second, before letting go to watch the show of light. The fireworks showed no sign of stopping and the moment one went out another took its place. Glittering bronzes, blazing blues and rains of pink played across the sky. It was mesmerizing.  
An "Ooooh" rose from the crowd after a particular huge one, that exploded not one, not two, but three times.  
Angelica suddenly laughed, a sound of pure happiness. She looked up at sky and the colours sparkled in her eyes.  
"Cheers to a fantastic 2018 guys!"  
"Cheers!"

* * *

Happy new year guys! I hope you all have a wonderful night and a great next year. Be careful around fireworks if you're shooting any, but enjoy the lights! I just want to say that writing this story has been one of the biggest highlights of this year for me, so thank you so much for that. It wouldn't have happend if it weren't for you choosing to take time read this and mabye even leave a review, and for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you.  
I'll see you again in 2018, take care!

Edit: My friend pencilsketchanime informed me that _merde_ actually translates to shit rather than damn, so there's that information for you. I hope you'll excuse my non-existent French knowledge.


	28. A splashing afternoon

**A splashing afternoon**

* * *

"Ugh." Lafayette wrinkled his nose. "This smells."  
Hercules laughed at him. "Yeah, that's what you call chlorine Laf. You are aware that we're at a swimming pool, right?"  
"Hmpf."  
John grinned. "I think it smells nice."  
Alexander grimaced at the entire thing. "How about instead of debating the way chlorine smells we find something to do?"  
"Sure," Herc said. He wrapped his towel around his shoulders and walked out of the changing room, followed by the others. The four found themselves standing on the top floor of the building, looking down at the various pools and attractions.  
John whistled.  
"That's a lot of stuff."  
"Yup," Laf agreed. "Where do we start?"  
"The slides?" Hercules suggested and pointed towards them. "That blue one looks cool."  
The others looked to where he pointed. The slide rose way above everything else, spiraling it's way down to to floor.  
"That's fine with me," Alexander said.  
"Can't we just get in the water first though?" John said. "I don't want to climb all the way up to that thing only to find out that it's ice cold."  
"Sure," Lafayette grinned and threw his towel down on a nearby bench. "Let's go!"

"Wheeee!" Lafayette yelled as he threw himself into the pool.  
"LAF!" The three yelled, ducking away from the splash of water.  
Lafayette popped up over the surface, grinning.  
"Come on! It's not even cold!"  
John glared at him. "That's easy for you to say, you just doused the four of us!"  
"So get in!"  
He smiled broadly at them and began splashing them with his hands. This led to a lot of yelling, screaming, and cursing.  
"I'll get you," Hercules growled and jumped in. He was quickly followed by John and Alexander, the two about as wet on land as Lafayette was in the pool.  
With combined efforts the three managed to overpower their friend, and gave him a taste of his own medicine.  
"Okay okay! I surrender!" Lafayette spluttered laughingly, spitting out water from the three way assault. "I'm sorry!"  
"Damn right you are," Hercules laughed. "You're a prick!"  
"I sure am."

After a bit of – fairly– peaceful swimming, they decided to make their way to the diving board.  
"Watch me, peasants!" John said as he jumped up and took off in a dead sprint across the board. The momentum threw him off balance, and he flew into the water sprattling wildly.  
"Very graceful, Laurens," Alexander remarked as he resurfaced.  
"Shut up!"  
Alexander winked at him and offered his hand. John accepted and dragged himself out of the pool. "It was a good try at least."  
"I'll bet you ten dollars that I can do better than that," Lafayette proposed.  
"Oooh," Hercules said, sucking in air through his teeth. "I'd be careful about that if I were you."  
"What?!" Laf said indignantly, gesturing wildly. "Did you see how terrible that was?"  
"Hey!"  
"Okay then," Hercules chuckled, "show us what you've got."  
Lafayette squared his shoulders and marched up to the diving board. After spending a considerable amount of time turning the wheel on its side he stepped up on it and tested the spring. Then he stepped down, turning the wheel a quarter of a turn and stepped on again. Apparently satisfied with the springiness he walked out to it's very edge. He cracked his knuckles before letting his hands hang down along his sides. He took a small jump. Then another. One, two, three times he jumped before launching himself off the board. His hands came up above his head in a loose triangle and he sailed through the air, cutting the surface with his finger tips. His shoulders followed, and his body bent down towards the water in a graceful arch. Causing his legs to fly up and hit the surface with a gigantic splash.  
Hercules roared with laughter.  
"Oh no," he pouted as Laf spun around in the water and looked expectantly at him. "Looks like someone owns Laurens some ten dollars."  
"What?" Lafayette yelled. "No way! That was perfect!"  
Hercules rolled his eyes. "Yeah and elephants can fly."  
"Dumbo!" Lafayette said. Then he swam over to the side of the pool. "But do it better yourself then."  
Hercules sighed deeply. After slowly shaking his head he walked up to the trampoline and swiftly turned the wheel a turn and a half forwards before stepping on. He walked out to the edge, jumped twice and launched himself into the air, somersaulting before cutting the water in a soundless dive. Lafayettes eyes widened. Two girls who were passing nearby let out an admiring "Oooooo."

Hercules emerged, shaking water out of his hair. He smirked slightly and cocked an eyebrow at his boyfriend.  
"Happy?" he asked.  
Without waiting for an answer he casually swam to the ladder, pulling himself up in one swift moment. The girls were still standing on the pool deck, eyeing him intensely. He winked at them.  
John and Alexander were positively dying with laughter. Lafayette was fuming.

"Seriously though, where did you learn that?" he asked, glaring angrily at the girls walking away.  
"It's not that hard," Hercules said nonchalantly.  
Lafayette tore his gaze away from the two, in order to stare disapprovingly at Hercules. "Oh really."  
Hercules chuckled softly. "I used to come to the pool a lot as a kid, my father taught me to swim and dive," he admitted. "Good times," he added fondly.  
Lafayette looked decently impressed, and Hercules grinned at him. "I could teach you if you wanted."  
"Or not," Lafayette suggested in alarm. "Didn't you want to go on the slides?"  
The other boy shrugged.  
"Sure, what do you guys say?" he asked John and Alexander.  
"Um," John said, poking Alexander's shoulder. "I'd love to but I think Alexander is about to freeze to death."  
"I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm not!"  
"Your teeth are literally acting as maracas."  
Alexander clamped his mouth together.  
"How about you two go to the bubble pools and Laf and I go on the slides?" Hercules suggested laughingly.  
No one argued.

The two boys went of on a quest to find a pool of hot water. After looking around for a while they found one not far from the changing room.  
"Did they have to plant a forest around it," John muttered and pushed away some fake plants surrounding the pool.  
"I think you're supposed to enter here," Alexander suggested and walked around a small wall, revealing a low arch leading to a set of stairs.  
"Whatever," John said and jumped over the pools edge. "It's hot!"  
Alexander snickered at his shocked expression and stepped in himself. The warm water engulfed his legs and he let out a soft moan.  
"It's amazing."  
John smiled softly at him as Alexander carefully waded through the pool towards him. His shoulder sank deeper under the water with every step.  
"You were really cold weren't you," John chuckled as Alex reached him. "Here, I'll warm you up."  
He reached out and pulled his boyfriend onto his lap. Alexander curled around so his head rested against John's chest.  
"Honestly though I don't think you can warm me up more than the water," he mumbled with half closed eyes.  
John laughed softly and ran his fingers through Alexander's wet hair.  
"Please, I'm way hotter than this water."  
Alexander snorted and craned his head so he could look up at John. "Really?"  
"Definitely."  
Alexander rolled his eyes. "If you say so."  
John slowly leaned down, to the point where the tips of their noses were just touching each other. He kept his gaze on Alexander.  
"You don't sound convinced," he purred.  
Alexander raised his eyebrows, but his cheeks flushed pink. "No?"  
"No. Not at all."  
Without breaking his gaze John let his hands slide up Alexander's back and cup the back of his head. Then his mouth dipped closer to Alexander's, just a fraction of an inch between them.  
"Maybe I should convince you," he murmured.  
Alexander made a soft noise in the back of his throat, tipping his head as close to John as possible.  
The thick canopy of fake plants had never seemed so conveniently placed. John smirked, letting the air between them vibrate with desire for a long, long second.  
Then his head dipped down to meet Alexander's.

"Should we go and find the others?" Alexander eventually murmured without much enthusiasm.  
John groaned hoarsely.  
"Maybe." His voice was rough, perhaps because he hadn't used it in quite some time.  
Or perhaps, Alexander thought as he pulled the other boy closer, because that sometime had been filled with quite an amount of kissing.  
"I don't want to," he said.  
"Me either."  
There was a pause.  
"We really should though, shouldn't we?" John asked.  
Alexander sighed deeply and stood, water streaming down his body.  
"Yeah," he said with a smile and offered John his hand. "We should."

* * *

Hello everyone! I hope you like this chapter, it was really fun to write. I'm going to apologize in advance if there is a bit of a larger gap between chapters in the coming weeks, I'm going to be really busy due to school and stuff. Hopefully it won't affect how much I'll be able to write, but I just wanted to let you know. Until then though, have a great day and take care!


	29. Sleepy Saturday

**Sleepy Saturday**

* * *

Alexander and John both dragged themselves out of bed to investigate the loud noise coming from the living room. It turned out that Laf was responsible. He was standing next to a very heavy textbook, which had presumably fallen down from the kitchen table.

"Is there any particular reason," John inquired, "as to why you are making enough noise to wake a sleeping elephant at seven in the morning?"  
"On a Saturday," Alexander added.  
Lafayette looked up at them before sighing and kneeling down to pick up his book.  
"Yeah, I'm meeting with the principle to talk about the next school year."  
Alexander blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "What about the next year?" he yawned.  
Lafayette rolled his eyes at him and stuffed a wad of papers and some pens into his bag. "I'm here as an exchange student, remember? I don't know if you noticed, but I'm French."  
"No we noticed," John said, yawning too. "But wait, what are you gonna talk about?"  
"Well," Lafayette said slowly, straightening up from his bag. "I'd like to stay here for a bit longer, but I only have a visa for this year. I can probably get it renewed though but then she needs to approve my classes and confirm that I'm a 'dedicated student.' Oh and the school needs to decide if I'm allowed to stay past this term too."  
Alexander felt something heavy grow in his stomach. "So you might not be here after summer?"  
Lafayette laughed and reached over to ruffle his hair.  
"Don't you worry your little butt, ami, it shouldn't be too hard to fix. It's just an awful lot of paperwork."  
John and Alexander exhaled in unison. Lafayette smirked at them.  
"How cute you are. Well, I'm leaving now or I'll be late."  
John shook his head. "Who schedules a meeting at seven o' clock on a Saturday?"  
Lafayette shrugged and swung his backpack onto his shoulder.  
"Don't know. I guess the principle is a morning person."  
John rubbed his eyes. "I'm not."  
"I've noticed," Lafayette chuckled, and strode towards the door. "Enjoy your sleep, night owls!"  
The door slammed shut behind him.

After a short conversation the two decided that there was really no point in going back to sleep anyways. Instead they made themselves a hearty breakfast and sat down in the sofa.  
"Are you sure it's wise to eat the last croissant?" John asked Alexander and leaned back to rest his legs over the other's lap.  
"Are you sure it's wise to kick my breakfast away from me?" Alexander grumbled. "But no, I'm not. I do think it's a fitting punishment for waking me up though."  
John laughed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."  
"I would never," Alexander answered through a mouthful of croissant. "Do I look like someone who would expect others to warn me about croissant theft?"  
John eyed him critically.  
"Yes."  
Alexander made a face at him.

They spent some time flipping through the TV channels, laughing at how bad the children's programs were.  
"Who decides to make a ten minute animation of a rabbit stuck in gum?" John asked.  
"Some very weird person," Alexander said, playing with John's hair. At some point he'd ended up with his head in Alexander's lap.  
"Animators," John muttered and reached for the remote. "They are _strange_."  
Alexander hummed in agreement, mesmerized by the flecks of sunlight dancing over John's face.  
"See that's better," John said after deciding on a new channel.  
"Sure," Alexander mumbled absentmindedly and twirled some of John's curls around his fingers. "You know I think your hair is almost long enough to braid.  
John moaned. "Don't."  
"It would look so pretty though."  
"Trust me, it wouldn't. My sister tried it once." His whole body shivered at the memory.  
"Right," Alexander grinned. "This is a story I'd like to hear."  
Maybe John would have told him, but he was interrupted by a long string of curses coming from Hercules' room.  
The two boys looked at each other, equally confused.  
"Hercules?" Alexander called, "You okay?"  
"No!"

They guy himself stomped out of his room, a scowl on his face. He was shirtless and wore only a pair of pyjama pants, as if he'd just rolled out of bed. A gold necklace glimmered around his neck.  
"Have any of you seen my hoodie?"  
Alexander shook his head, "Nope."  
"Same." John sat up. "Why?"  
Hercules groaned. "I swear Laf has stolen it, I can't find it anywhere!"  
"We met him when he left for that principle meeting," John supplied helpfully. "He wore a black one."  
"It had some type of white print on it," Alexander added.  
"That absolute twat of an idiot! He knows that's my favourite!" Hercules sighed dejectedly. "And all of his are in the washer so I can't get him back."  
"Tough problem," Alexander said. "Don't you own any other clothes?"  
"Yeah but, ugh. I wanted that hoodie."  
John jokingly rolled his eyes. "Run out to the school board and get it then."  
For a second Hercules looked like he might actually consider it, but then he shook his head.  
"Too much work. I'll just find something else."  
"That does seem easier," John laughed.  
"Yeah," Hercules agreed solemnly. "It does."

"Well that was a wild ride from start to finish," John grinned as soon as Hercules was out of earshot.  
"An ' _absolute twat of an idiot_?'" Alexander lauged. "I might have to start using that one."  
"Same," John agreed. "Hey, on an unrelated note: did you see his necklace?"  
Alexander furrowed his brows. "Yeah?"  
"Since when has he had that?"  
Alexander leaned back against the sofa. "Not sure," he said slowly. "But didn't Lafayette give him something gold-ish for Christmas?"  
"Oh yeah, that thing he never showed us."  
Alexander nodded.  
"I suppose it could be, it had like a rectangle with something written on it."  
Alexander made a noice of interest. "Huh, what?"  
John shrugged and let his head fall down on Alexander's shoulder. "Don't know, it was too small."  
"Come on, you can't just say that and then _not know_. I get curious!"  
John laughed, the movement vibrating through Alexander's body.  
"If it's from Laf it probably say something like ' _France is the greatest, America sucks_.'"  
Alexander smirked. "Or ' _Americans can't cook, and no, takeout doesn't count._ '"  
"True, or maybe it's the security codes to Area 51."  
"What, you think Laf would be trusted with those?"  
John grimaced as he imagined it. "Actually nevermind:"  
"Exactly," Alex agreed.  
"But then what is it?"

What followed was a long debate on what the mystical inscription might be. Some of the more notable suggestions were the entire national anthem of France, every decimal of pi, and 'Lafayette' written over and over again. Eventually, they decided that it would probably remain a mystery forever.  
"Or," Alexander suggested, "we could just ask him."  
"I guess," John said sleepily. "But I think our ideas are a lot better."  
Alexander laughed softly. "Maybe you're right."  
"Mmm," John hummed. "Perhaps I should get you a necklace."  
"Really? Considering your suggestions I'm dreading what it might say."  
"It will say 'You're an absolute twat of an idiot.'"  
Alexander pinched his nose with a grin.  
"Right. At least I'll be your absolute twat of an idiot."  
"Okay, "John nodded. "I can live with that."  
"It's a deal then," Alexander yawned with a smile.  
John grinned, a lazy sort of morning grin. "Just don't expect anything fancy."  
Alexander grinned back. "I won't. Just the title will be sufficient."  
"'Alexander Hamilton - John Laurens' absolut twat of an idiot," John mused. "I like it, a deal it is."  
Alexander shook his head and laughed, the sun glinting of his black hair.  
"Deal."

* * *

Hello everyone! I hope you liked his chapter, I know it's a bit slower than usual but I think we all need to calm down sometimes. Feel free to tell me if you liked it, or if you didn't. I really do appreciate the criticism. Until the next chapter, take care!


	30. These are wise words

**These are wise words**

* * *

"Are we sure this is right?" Hercules asked and glanced down into the pot of rice. "It looks kinda… eh."  
Alexander looked over at it. "No, I think it's supposed to look like that?"  
Both of them turned to John for reassurance, but he stared back at them in alarm.  
"I dont know!"

It was the one day of the week where Lafayette's classes ended really late, so the three had stoically decided that they would take on the task of making dinner. While they had yet to fail horribly Alexander was sure it was only a matter of time.  
"Anyways, have you heard about that new movie?" he asked while stirring around in the pan of bologna. Hot liquid spewed up and he hissed angrily.  
"Careful," Hercules warned. "And yeah, maybe. It's the one with a bunch of crazy animals right?"  
"Something like that," Alexander muttered as he doused his arm with cold water.  
"I think I saw the trailer," John said and handed Alex a towel. "It looked pretty cool."  
Hercules nodded.  
"Do you think we should see it?" Alexander asked. Apparently determining that his arm was okay he went back to the stove, albeit a bit wearily.  
"I'd like to," John said. "When's it on?"  
"I think it plays this entire week, so Friday might be good?"  
"Friday sounds good to me," Hercule agreed.  
"Yeah me too," John said and prodded at the rice with a spoon. "But we should probably wait for Laf to decide."  
Alexander nooded. "Of course. Um, where is he?"  
Hercules shrugged. "In his room, last time I saw him. He was on the phone with someone. I dunno who, he was speaking French so I've no idea what it was about."  
"Maybe talking to his parents?" John suggested.  
"Perhaps."  
"Well let's wait for him to show up and then we can decide," Alexander said and lifted the pan off the stove. "Does this look ready to you?"  
Both John and Hercules squinted at it.  
"I think so," John finally said.

The three of them busied themselves with setting the table. They were just about to call for Laf when he showed up. There was a crease between his eyebrows, which only deepened when he smelled the food.  
"That's meant to be eaten… right?"  
"Hey," John muttered, "We did our best!"  
Lafayette's face relaxed and the corners of his eyes crinkled up in a smile. "Just kidding, it smells great."  
Alexander rolled his eyes at him.  
"Just sit your butt down, Laf."

"Oh by the way," Hercules said when they'd all gotten their food. "Alexander suggested that we go and see that new movie on Friday, the one with the weird creatures. What do you say?"  
Lafayette, who'd been shoveling rice into his mouth with the speed of a thousand horses, put his fork down.  
"I don't think I can, sorry," he said slowly.  
"What, why?"  
"I have a meeting."  
John furrowed his brows. "You just had one, what is it about this time?"  
Lafayette waved his hand in an undetermined gestured. "It's nothing."  
"Aww," Hercules complained. "How about Saturday then?"  
Lafayette shook his head. "No I have a bunch of homework I need to do. But you guys go, it's fine."  
"We can't just leave you behind at some meeting," Alexander protested.  
"No really, it's fine. I'm not that interested in the movie anyways. We have one in France that's quite similar."  
Hercules looked him over, his dark eyes carefully observant.  
"You sure?" he said softly.  
"Mmm," Lafayette nodded and shoved the last of his food in his mouth.  
"I honestly am," he said and stood up, "Well, thanks for dinner guys."  
"No problem," the three said in chorus. All of them looked at each other and laughed.  
"No really, you always cook for us," John added. "Oh hey, I meant to ask this before, but I forgot. Do any of you want to play scrabble after dinner? My teacher taught our class a great trick so I'm sure I'll beat your asses!"  
Alexander quirked an eyebrow at him.  
"Sure," Hercules grinned. "As long as it's not monopoly."  
They all turned to Lafayette, who suddenly looked very uncomfortable.  
"Um, no, sorry. Like I–" he was interrupted by his phone going off. "Hang on."

He answered the call, his forehead creasing together as he listen to whoever was speaking. Then he replied, in such rapid French that even Alexander couldn't follow. He only caught something about "not now," "people," and "I'll call later!" He also thought he might've caught the words for "birthday cake", but Alexander had a sneaking suspicion that was wrong.  
"Sorry," Lafayette said as he ended the call with an irritated sigh. He took a deep breath before continuing. "No, I really wanna but like I said, I have a ton of homework. Like, a _literal_ ton."  
"That sucks," Alexander said sympathetically.  
"Yeah." John and Herc nodded.  
Lafayette flashed them an apologetic grin and left the room with an, "See you later then."  
"I honestly hate our teachers," Hercules grumbled. " _Why_ do we have so many assignments?"  
"No idea," Alexander sighed.  
"Same," John said. "I think I have about three essays due next week."  
"And you want to play scrabble instead?" Alexander laughed. "Great time management."  
John grinned at him. "They're short though, I'll do them this weekend."  
Hercules shook his head and began to clear away the dishes. "Whatever you say Laurens."  
"I will!"  
"Whatever you say, John. Whatever you say.

"Okay no, Alex," John said as Alexander put down his tiles. "I'm pretty sure that _snickersee_ is not a word.  
"I swear it is! Now give me my points."  
Hercules raises his eyebrows at him. "What's next, _twixhear_?"  
"Oh come on," Alexander grumbled. "I swear I read it somewhere, it's like a big knife."  
"A knife?" John asked. "A knife called 'snickersee'?"  
"Yeah!"  
Hercules pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, you can have it."  
"What? No!" John protested.  
"It's a word!"  
John threw his hands in the air. "Fine!"  
Hercules grinned at him. "How's that tactic of yours going?"  
"Oh shut up."  
Hercules smirked before glancing down at his own tiles.  
"Okay then, Hamilton. I will add onto your 'snickersee' to make 'stressed.'  
Alexander pouted angrily.  
"I shouldn't have put it down!"  
"Beggars can't be choosers."  
John rolled his eyes at them and threw the bag of tiles to Hercules.  
"By the way, on the topic of that," he said softly. "Is Laf okay, he seemed quite tense before?"  
Alexander paused his intense studying of the board to look up at John. "That's true," he said consideringly. "Maybe he's just a bit worried about his homework?"  
Hercules bit his lip. "Yeah I think he's alright."  
"Okay," John nodded. "Just wondering."  
Hercules played with the little rope attached to the tile bag. "He hasn't said anything at least."  
With a sigh he threw the bag back down on the table. "I don't know, I think he just slept really bad last night. I'll talk to him if it seems like there's some other problem."  
"That's good," Alexander said and flashed him a smile. "Everyone gets grumpy when they don't sleep."  
"Yeah, especially you," John mumbled.  
"Hey!"  
Hercules chuckled. "I think this is the point where I suggest we continue with the game. Your turn John."  
"Well you haven't given me anything good to work with," John muttered and looked at the tiles on the board. "I'll add to this 'ad' to make 'bad'."  
"Kinda like what you are at this game," Alexander mused.  
"Shut up! I'll win, just you wait!"

He didn't end up winning. Alexander did. But as Hercules said, laughing at the absolute outrage on John's face, he was also the only one of them who was big enough of a nerd to actually study English. Or as John saw it, "Alex had an unfair advantage which means he basically cheated, so I win!" Hercules and Alexander exchanged a look, and decided not to say anything.

* * *

Hello! I hope you liked this chapter, thanks so much for reading! Take care!


	31. After sunset

**After sunset**

* * *

"Right," Hercules said and put down the plate he was drying. "Since no one else is breaching the subject I guess that I have to."  
John looked up from his sketchbook and Alexander quirked an eyebrow over the book he was reading.  
"It's February the 13th today," Hercules clarified. "Valentine's Day is tomorrow."  
John sucked in air between his teeth. "Do we have any plans?"  
He and Alexander exchanged a look.  
"I don't think so?" Alexander answered.  
John shook his head.  
"That's what I thought," Hercules said. "We don't either," he added with a nod towards Laf. The other boy hummed in agreement, not looking up from the math equation he was jotting down.  
"So do we want to do something together or…" Alexander's voice trailed off, leaving the unasked question hanging in the air.  
"I mean it depends on what you think." Hercules shrugged. "I would've suggested watching a movie, though we did that last week." His eyes darted to Laf. Lafayette said nothing, only scratched out something he'd written.  
"There's this action comedy that's running now though," John suggested. "It might be kinda fun?"  
Alexander nodded thoughtfully. "That would be cool."  
Lafayette closed his books and pushed them away with a sigh. "That one about the two people trying to save that thing?"  
Hercules chuckled. "Very specific."  
"Shut up!" Lafayette rolled his eyes at him.  
"But I'd love to go see that one," he added. "Especially since I, you know, missed the last one."  
"So that's a decision then?" Hercules asked softly.  
John and Alexander gave him their agreement, along with Laf. The latter looked down as he spoke, twirling his pens between his fingers.  
"Also I'm sorry I missed the last time, I don't think I even apologized for it," he mumbled.  
"Hey," Hercules murmured, walking over to place his hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "It's fine, we don't blame you for having homework.  
Lafayette bit his lip and nodded slowly, almost as if he didn't quite believe Hercules.  
"Thanks guys," he all but whispered.  
"Stress is never good," John added to Hercules' statement. His voice took on the deep tone of understanding.  
Lafayette smiled gratefully and threw his pen down. "At least I'm done now, I shouldn't have to do anything else this week."  
"Awesome," Hercules said and patted his shoulder. "How about we go and buy those movie tickets, then?"

They managed to find and book some quite decent places, maybe because they picked the earliest of the evening times.  
"So we can do other stuff afterwards if we want to," Hercules said airily.  
No one objected.

The morning of Valentine's Day dawned with clear skies and a frosty bite to the air that lasted the whole day. The four huddled together as they made their way down the snowy streets to the theater. Even though it was only late afternoon the sun was already dropping towards the horizon.  
"One would think the school would do something festive today," John chatted as they walked. "But no, same old boring classes as usual."  
"Huh," Lafayette said. "My teacher brought us candy hearts."  
"What?!" John and Alexander chorused.  
"That's no fair," Hercules chuckled, his hand swinging leisurely in Lafayette's.  
"It's not my fault you have boring teachers," Lafayette grinned.  
Alexander scoffed at him just as they reached the movie theater. The air inside was blissfully warm and filled with the aroma of buttered popcorn.  
"Ahhh," John sighed. "It smells delicious."  
"How about you two go and grab us some snacks and Herc and I can collect the tickets," Lafayette suggested.  
"Sounds good," Alexander said. "See you at the entrance then?"  
Herc saluted him before pulling Lafayette with him to the ticket booth. John turned towards Alexander with shining eyes.  
"Let's get some popcorn!"

The two found their friends again outside the actual theater room, tickets in hand. John and Alexander made their way to them, careful of not spilling their popcorn cups.  
"Here you go," Alexander said and traded one popcorn and two sodas for his and John's tickets.  
"Sweet," Hercules said. "Well it's five minutes to six so I say we should get in there now?"  
"Agreed," John said.

The theater was pitch black and empty but for a few people. Alexander supposed most would want to go later in the evening. Still, he didn't mind the solitarity it gave them. The back of John's hand brushed his as they climbed the stairs to their seats.  
"These are some good spots," Lafayette whispered as the advertising started. Indeed, they had a perfect view of the screen. And no incredibly tall people were in front of them. Alexander was amazed.  
"Of course they are, I picked them" Hercules whispered back.  
"I'm shocked you managed," Alexander muttered.  
The familiar tune of the start of a film blared out of the speakers before Herc could reply, and the four fell silent.  
The movie begun.

"That was pretty good," John said when they walked out again. He and Alexander had left their friends at the road crossing, the other two claiming that they wanted to grab a bite at some nearby café. John and Alexander had decided to take a little adventure of their own, and were currently wandering down the streets without any particular goal in mind.  
"I could tell you thought that," Alexander laughed. "You sat like this for most of the time." He stared of distantly into the night sky, his mouth half open in imitation of John's entranced face.  
"Hey!" John jabbed him in the arm.  
Alexander smiled softly.  
"It looked adorable though," he confessed.  
John rolled his eyes and looked away, but Alexander felt a twinge of satisfaction at the rose colour now staining his cheeks. He took a deep breath, willing the chilly night air to cool the burning of his own face. Though it couldn't be more than half past eight the sky was already pitch black, and stars twinkled merrily down at them.

They walked in silence for a while, hand in hand. John hummed softly to himself while they walked. Alexander didn't recognize the song, but it made his heart flutter ever so slightly. It was strange, he thought, that even though they'd know each other for quite some time John still managed to do things that rendered him completely breathless.

"You know, I think this is the first time I've actually had a Valentine," John said quietly. He kept his eyes on the distant horizon, but his words were levelled as he spoke. Alexander squeezed his hand in his.  
"Yeah me too."  
He'd had girlfriends before, a boyfriend too. But it'd never been this serious, and he'd never spent Valentine's Day with someone else. Not in this way.  
John took his eyes of the passing housewalls and met Alexander's gaze. The nighttime stars reflected in his irises.  
"Do you think we're supposed too.. do something special?" he asked. The question was open, honest uncertainty tinging his words.  
"Hmm," Alexander said. "I don't know?"  
The two of them laughed.  
"We planned this well didn't we?" John chuckled "But do you want to–" He broke off.  
"Do you hear that?"  
Alexander furrowed his eyebrows, straining his ears. From far off in the distance came a soft, soft melody.  
"Maybe, what is it?"  
John shrugged. "Dunno."  
Alexander grinned at him.  
"Let's find out shall we?"

They ran down the streets, following the sound of the fleeting notes. The melody grew louder as they made their way down winding alleys. Suddenly the street opened up into a small square. They skidded to a halt.

A small section of the square's middle had been replaced by a temporary wooden floor. The surrounding trees were adorned with golden lights and red ribbons, flowing leisurely in the cool wind. Speakers were hidden on the ground, producing the melodic sounds they'd heard from far away. On the floor there were people, spinning to the inviting tune. Some were dressed up, in flowing gowns and smart costumes, but most looked ordinary. Teenagers laughing as they clumsily stumbled to the song, cleary as unprepared as they were.  
This wasn't a town square.  
It was a dance floor.

Alexander turned to John, still breathless from their heedless run. His lips curled up in a minute smile as their eyes met. And held. Without giving John time to react Alexander held out his hand.  
"May I have this dance?" he asked, voice breathless.  
John's eyes sparkled as he placed his hand in Alex's.  
"You may."

Without wasting a moment Alexander pulled John with him to the floor. People parted as they made their way, causing both giggling and shuffling.  
"Do you know how to dance?" John murmured as Alexander led him into the first steps of an improvised waltz.  
Alexander grinned at him. "No, do you?"  
John smirked. "Not at all."

The music pulled them with it, spinning them around just as much as they spun each other. Alexander couldn't stop the giggle escaping his lips as he turned John in a double spin, the other landing the step erfectly.  
"Whoo!"  
They laughed, somehow continuing their steps despite the shock at having managed them at all.  
"You're good," John grinned and rotated his arm, spinning Alexander under his shoulder.  
"So are you," Alexander gasped as he retreated back, pulling John with him. The latter lurched downwards, using Alex's hand to keep him upright as his back arched. In an attempt to save them both Alexander reached his arm around John's waist, lifting him into a perfect stance just as the music stopped. The two looked at each other, breathing hard as the giddy laughs and cheers of the other couples filled their ears.  
Alexander looked into Johns eyes, messy curls falling down into his face and covering his dazzling brown-green eyes, lips parted in a breathless smile and pure content radiating of his features. John looked into Alexander's eyes, at the darkest brown as warm as a summer night, where happiness shone as brightly as the starlight playing over the feathersoft locks of his hair. Without a word, without a gesture, they both had the same thought.  
They were here, right here, in each others arms at a dance on Valentine's Night. And as the music started up again, slow and irresistible, they were both sure of one thing.  
There was nowhere else in the world that they'd rather be.

* * *

Hi! As always I hope you liked this chapter, it was really fun to write. I'm sorry it's up a little after Valentine's, my school hosted a dance so I didn't have as much time as I wanted. Regardless I hope it made some of you smile. Have a great day and take care!


	32. A tasteful discovery

**A tasteful discovery  
**

* * *

Alexander peered his head over the edge of the giant cardboard box he carried.  
"Where do you want this?" he grunted.  
Hercules gestured with his head towards an empty corner, his hands occupied with yet another box.  
"Just put it there."  
Alexander did as instructed, exhaling deeply as he put it down.  
"Phew. These are really damn heavy!"  
Hercules chuckled at him as he put his own down.  
"Yeah, thankfully that was the last."  
"How come we always end up with these kind of tasks?" Alexander said and looked around the classroom. It was filled with boxes and random equipment he and Herc had moved in there. Apparently the math department wanted some old storage room that was used by the history department to store… stuff. Unfortunately Herc's teacher had thought he'd be the perfect candidate to move everything that was in that room. Even more unfortunately, Alexander had stood right next to him as she'd said this, so now he was thrown into the fire as well. At least she'd promised that they'd get "extra credit". Right.  
"Dunno," Hercule answered. "Maybe it's 'cause we're so well behaved."  
Alexander wordlessly raised his eyebrows at him. Hercule met his gaze for a solid five seconds, and then they both burst out laughing.  
"Sure we are!"

"Okay but you can handle this by yourself then?" Alexander asked once they'd sobered up.  
Hercules nodded. "Yeah I should be fine."  
"Great," Alexander said, grabbing his coat. "John and I are going out for dinner so I kinda need to run."  
"Oh right, sorry to keep you. I appreciate the help though."  
"No problem, you sure it's fine?"  
Hercules waved him off with a smile.  
"I have it under control. Have fun tonight!"  
"Will do," Alex said happily, already at the door.  
"Oh by the way," Hercules added, opening a box as he did so. "If you see Laf, could you tell him I'll be late? I tried calling him but I think he was still in class 'cause it wouldn't connect."  
Alexander smiled at him. "I will. Good luck with all of this!"  
Hercules gave him a thumbs up and Alexander disappeared down the hallway, all but sprinting home.

Alexander shoved his key in the lock, turning it open. John's classes ended really late so he'd said he'd met Alexander directly at the bus stop. After weeks of persuasion John had finally convinced him to try sushi. Alexander scrunched up his nose at the mere thought. While he'd never tried it, it just sounded weird. John had gone on and on about how delicious it was though, so he supposed he oughta try it. At the very least, he thought, he'd get a night out with John. Which was well worth it.  
As he stepped inside he was greeted with the sound of Laf's voice. Remembering Hercules request he opened his mouth before realizing Laf was in a phone call. The boy merely raised his hand in greeting, clearly listening to what the other person was saying. Alexander inclined his head and mouthed a "hello", not wanting to interrupt the conversation. After all, he could just tell Laf after he'd changed his clothes.  
While he tore through his wardrobe for something appropriate to wear he kept glancing towards the clock. It was twenty to six, and it would take at least ten minutes to get to the bus. John'd said it would leave at ten past, so that was twenty minutes before he had to start walking. Though he should probably be there slightly before, so fifteen minutes then. Which meant he should really hurry up.  
He threw on a semi-nice shirt and walked out into the living space, grabbing his wallet from where he'd left it on the sofa table. Lafayette was clearly finishing up his conversation, now chattering in French instead of English.  
"... _ouais ça sonne bien, j'aimerais pouvoir te rencontrer aussi. Vous devriez venir ici un jour_ – _je plaisante. Eh bien, je te parlerai bientôt. Je t'aime!"  
_ Alexander furrowed his eyebrows together, not sure if he'd heard correctly. It sounded like Laf was talking to Hercules, but Hercules didn't speak French… Maybe Laf was just teasing him.

"Hey Alex," Lafayette said as he put his phone down, smiling. "Heading out?"  
"Yeah I'm meeting John for dinner."  
"Aha, that's why he's not home yet?"  
Alexander nodded. "He had art class last so he said he'd just meet me at the bus stop. Oh, that reminds me! Hercules is helping with moving some stuff for the history department so he'll be home late too."  
"You guys are leaving me all alone," Lafayette whined, rolling his eyes. "Well I guess I have homework I can do."  
Alexander smirked at his complaining.  
"You have fun with that."  
"You bet I will," he grinned. He stood up and headed towards his room, but turned around on the threshold.  
"You have fun with John too," he added. A smile crept across his lips as he made kissing sounds in Alexander's direction.  
"Oh shut up," Alexander mumbled. "Jerk."  
Lafayette suggestively raised his eyebrows at him before disappearing into his room.  
Alexander rolled his eyes as he passed the kitchen table to grab his shoes. Lafayette had left his phone there, the screen still on. Even though he knew he probably shouldn't look Alexander's eyes slipped towards it, where the previous caller's name was still displayed.

 _Ma chérie magnifique_

 _My gorgeous darling_ – surely that was Herc. Alexander repeated the thought as he called out a goodbye to Laf and headed out of the door. Yeah, obviously. Since he hadn't picked up earlier he and Herc had probably catched up on conversation now. The poor guy must be so bored, stuck with moving all those boxes.  
A quick glance at the clock told him he should really get going, so he shoved his phone in his pocket and started walking. Winter's cold still hung in the air, but the mildness of spring was approaching. As he half jogged down the street all that remained of the previously white snow were small gray clumps here and there. Which was fortunate, he thought, because he probably would have slipped otherwise. He picked up his pace, ignoring the growing clump of unease in his stomach.  
He was sure Laf had just been calling Hercules.

"Alex! Alex!" John waved at him the moment he came into sight.  
"Hey," Alexander grinned as he reached him.  
"You look winded," John remarked. "Did you run here?"  
Alexander smiled. "Sort of, I didn't want to be late."  
"You're like, ten minutes early," John chuckled.  
"Early bird gets the worm, right?"  
John shook his head. "You're insane. Anyways, how was classes?"

The two chatted for a bit while they waited for the bus. Eventually they saw it round the corner of the street on other side, and John grinned at him.  
"Ready for some sushi?"  
Alexander definitely was. At least mostly. So he let John grab his hand and drag him onto the bus.  
"This better be beyond delicious!"  
"I'm telling you, it will be."

Two hours later, Alexander couldn't deny it anymore. John was right.

* * *

 _Ouais ça sonne bien, j'aimerais pouvoir te rencontrer aussi. Vous devriez venir ici un jour_ – _je plaisante. Eh bien, je te parlerai bientôt. Je t'aime!  
_ Yeah that sounds good, I wish I could meet you too. You should come here sometime– just kidding. Well, I'll talk to you soon. I love you!"

Hi! I'm sorry it's been so long, but I hope you like the chapter anyways! I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can. Until then, take care!


	33. A declaration of intentions

**A declaration of intentions**

* * *

Alexander was rummaging through his desk after his books when the conversation drifted in through his door. He paused, his hand hovering over a pile of unidentified papers. It was unmistakably Lafayette and Hercules again. The two always seemed to be talking just outside his door.  
After glancing around his room in irritation Alexander spotted the book peeking out from under a shirt. He mentally cursed himself for leaving clothes on the floor and stashed it into his bag. At least he wasn't late yet. He sighed deeply and pushed his door fully open.

Herc and Lafayette were indeed stood in the living room. Hercules looked calm and relaxed, as usual. Lafayette however… Alexander slowed his walking, coming to a sudden stop. Lafayette was looking down at the floor and not meeting the other boy's eyes. He was twirling his phone in his hands, spinning it around and around. Maybe it was just the light, but he looked pale. Very pale.  
"Um, Herc?" Lafayette asked, clearly changing the subject of their conversation. Alexander remained in the dark hallway. Evidently none of them had spotted him yet. He wasn't sure if he should move.  
"Yeah?"  
"There's a thing we… need to talk about."  
Alexander's heart skipped a beat.  
"Okay, now or later?" Hercules voice was still levelled, filled with nothing but calm curiosity.  
Lafayette opened his mouth but his eyes darted to the side before he could answer. They widend a fraction of an inch. Alexander took this as his being discovered. And his cue to get the hell out.  
"Don't let me interrupt you," he said, swaggering out into the living room as inconspicuously as he could. "I'm just passing through."  
"No problem," Hercules grinned. "You want breakfast? I think there's some pancakes left."  
Alexander hesitated. He'd very much planned on having breakfast, but Lafayette had tensed up at the words. Whatever this thing he wanted to talk about was, it was clear that he didn't want Alexander around when he said it. And Alexander feared he knew why.  
"Eh, no thanks," he said. "I– John is leaving for his class trip today and I forgot to ask him about a… thing. We have some class stuff we need to do that I needed help with and… yeah." Alexander internally face palmed himself, but Hercules didn't seem to notice. He just shrugged.  
"Okay, whatever you want."  
Alexander smiled nervously at him as he moved past the two to the door.  
"Bye then!"  
He waved at them, and Hercules waved back. The last thing he saw as the door closed behind him was Lafayette clutching his phone in his hands. His knuckles were white.

Alexander lingered in the cafeteria even after his classes were done. He had no reason to stay. Perhaps John would come by though, if his field trip ended soon. Maybe they could go out for a coffee. He sighed deeply. He should go home, really. But Hercules finished early and so did Laf. The two always went home together. There was no reason that they wouldn't today… was there? He certainly hoped not. Though he usually saw them in the corridors after English, and he hadn't today. If something – say, a big secret being revealed – had happened between them Alexander was not too sure he wanted to brave the dorm alone.

A cheerful call jerked him from his misery.  
"Hamilton!"  
His head shot up, eyes darting around the hall. Angelica was waving at him from a far off table, her face practically glowing.  
Alexander quickly made his way to her, desperately grabbing at the distraction.  
"Hi," he said breathlessly.  
Angelica grinned broadly at him.  
"You're still in school?" Eliza asked politely. She, too, was smiling.  
"Oh I– yeah. Couldn't be bothered to go home. Why are you two still here?" Alexander replied and took a seat next to Angelica.  
"Wanted to see of we could find you, mostly," Angelica said. "We'll need help planning and I couldn't find John and I know that if I talk to anyone else it'll just spoil the surprise, so you're obviously the best choice and honestly I was just hoping you'd have your way around here." She was all but bouncing up and down in her seat as she blurted out the sentence, her eyes sparkling. She wasn't alone, her sister grinned as if someone had just told her she'd gotten a puppy.  
"Yeah exactly," Eliza added. "I was thinking the decorations should be in red, white, and blue, naturally. Then the cake can have the three thick stripes on the outside and on the inside we can put the US flag so when he cuts into it he can–"  
Alexander held up his hands. "Hang on!"  
Both girls tilted their heads towards him. The gesture was so unanimous it was almost absurd, but Alexander was too wrapped up in confusion to see the funny part of it.  
"Not to be rude, but what on _Earth_ are you talking about?"  
"Oh," Eliza said.  
Angelica stared at him. "You… haven't heard?"  
"Heard what?"  
The two girls shared a glance.  
"Should we not have told him?" Eliza asked quietly.  
"Don't know, maybe he wanted to do it himself." Angelica's eyes darted nervously to Alexander. The giddy euphoria of the previous minute was gone.  
Alexander swallowed nervously.  
"Who wanted to do what?"  
Both of them looked away, not meeting his eyes. Then Angelica's face cracked up in a big grin.  
"Speaking of the devil!"  
On the other side of the cafeteria, running towards them with a brilliant smile on his face, was Lafayette. Dragging Hercules with him.

"Alexander!" Lafayette laughed. "Just who I wanted to see!"  
Hercules exasperatedly shook his head, but, to Alexander's great surprise, there was a grin stretched across his face. A honest, sparkling grin.  
"I have some things to tell you," Lafayette said happily as he slid down across to Alexander. Since he was holding on hard to Hercules' hand he, too, was ungracefully dragged onto the bench, causing Eliza to hurriedly press herself against the wall to avoid getting crushed. Herc shot Lafayette an irritated glance that contained about as much anger as a unicorn dancing on a rainbow.  
"Right. There's… stuff I haven't told you," Lafayette repeated. His voice lowered slightly, the happiness of before instantly vanishing. "And– I'm sorry."  
Their companions fell unusually silent. The atmosphere of the room became that of a thunderstorm. Intense, heavy, suffocating.  
Lafayette swallowed, and didn't continue until Hercules squeezed his hand.  
"I– ran into a problem," he finally confessed. "A few months back." Angelica looked away, clearly knowing where the conversation was going. So did Eliza.  
"Do you remember how I told you I was meeting with the principal a few weeks ago?"  
Alexander nodded, silently wondering if he'd ever felt this confused before.  
"And how I told you I tried to get a new visa to stay here for a bit longer?"  
"Yeah?"  
"And how I said it "shouldn't be too hard to fix"?"  
The penny finally, _finally_ , dropped for Alexander.  
"Oh."  
Lafayette nodded. His lips were tightly pursed together.  
"The school said it'd be fine, they just wanted to call administration and stuff. But then the paperwork got messy, and I needed credentials and signatures and everything. But they said they'd try to fix it, and that it would be fine. They were sure of it. So I didn't bother to apply to any French schools since I'd be staying here. Then some important guy was unexpectingly missing, and because of some legal stuff they needed him to fill in something important and suddenly I _wouldn't_ be able to get a visa and–" Lafayette's voice hitched. Hercules looked away.  
"They said that maybe I could get an academic scholarship and get around the system that way. So I tried harder, applied for everything I could. I think you, I think you remember all the 'homework' I had." He made air quotations with one hand, the other still holding on hard to Hercules.  
"I almost passed it that way, but then I needed credentials from my "native school". It had to be from an institution for higher education, and it couldn't be more than twelve months old. But since I've been here I don't _have_ any of those credentials." Lafayette was looking sternly into a distant lamp.  
"That's when I was in those phone calls all the time. I thought I'd have to go back to France and leave– and leave all of you. There would've been nothing there for me, I would've had no chance of getting into a French school at that point. I would've had to wait a year, maybe more. That could had been… manageable, I suppose. But all my old friends would've been off to other schools, or moved out. I would've– there would've been nothing there for me if I'd had to go back.  
"I probably should had told you, but I was… I don't know, scared, maybe. I didn't want to have to tell you I was leaving. Didn't want to accept it. So I did my damn best to find some way, _any_ way to stay. I–" He took a shaky breath– "didn't realise how bad the situation had become. So, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I behaved and the stress I caused you. Most of all, I'm grateful that you stayed with me. That all of you stayed with me." Lafayette looked up, meeting their eyes one by one. His voice dropped to a whisper.  
"Thank you."  
Hercule smiled softly at him. He slowly reached up to touch Lafayette's cheek, wiping away the tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes as he did so.  
"You forgot to tell him the most important part," he murmured.  
Lafayette's eyes crinkled upwards. He swatted away Hercules hand, brushing away the stray drops himself. "I guess I did."  
He looked up at Alexander, grinning.  
"They called me yesterday. The school secretary of whatever found a loophole, bless her soul. She renewed my visa the same day, with full and final confirmation." Happiness radiated from his every feature.  
"I get to stay!"  
The air seemed to shimmer with gold. Alexander stood up in a trance. Suddenly he was next to Lafayette, and they were hugging. Hugging so hard Alexander could feel Laf's laughter vibrating through his body.  
"I'm staying!"  
A range of emotions exploded through Alexander, eradicating all the confusion and anger and sadness he'd felt before. Suddenly, it all made sense.  
It all made sense.

"Did I miss something?" a voice asked from behind them.  
Alexander released Lafayette. The two spun around to find a smirking John. Hercules snorted.  
"Yes." Lafayette grinned. "Yes, you did."

The story was recounted to John, eliciting about the same reactions as Alexander had had.  
"So," Angelica said once all had settled down, and Alexander and John had both apologized to Laf for being, as John put it, "unobservant, dense and blind idiots." Lafayette had waved off their apologies, issuing his own instead. Hercules had remained quiet, but it was clear that he and Laf had already had this conversation. Perhaps multiple times.  
"I have single handedly decided that we need to celebrate this, and that's not up for debate," she continued. "Ideas?"  
Eliza smirked at her sister.  
"Actually," John said slowly. "I have one."  
With those words he set the ball into motion, and the party planning was an undeniable fact. They went on for… quite some time. Eventually they decided that they needed to wrap up, settling the time and location for good. The coming Saturday, 20.00 p.m., Angelica and Eliza's dorm.  
It would be a party worth telling stories about.

And when their children told their stories, they'd tell the story of that night.

* * *

Hi! Hopefully you liked this chapter, it was … interesting to write. I think everyone can guess what the next one will be about so I'll try to post it as soon as possible. Until then, thanks so much for reading and take care!


	34. Who writes your story?

**Who writes your story?**

(Important announcement at the end!)

* * *

Lafayette and Hercules walked a little behind the two other boys as they made their way to the girls' dorm. The evening was calm, and Lafayette's thoughts were not. They whirled around his brain as he trudged forward, clutching his boyfriend's hand hard. Hercules' palm was warm in his – a source of heat in the cold air. He never, ever wanted to let go. Hercules had always been the brightest source of warmth in his life. Lafayette swallowed against the clump in his throat, the one that always formed when he thought about how close he'd been to having to leave him. Having to leave them all.  
But he wasn't. No, he was staying. He wasn't walking across the yard to catch a flight back to France. He was walking across it to get to a party – a party that had been organized for him. Because his friends had been happy, so happy that he was staying. A smile drifted over his face as he repeated their names quietly to himself. Hercules, Alexander, John, Angelica, Eliza. Hell, even Jefferson and Madison and Burr. They'd stayed by his side through the past few weeks, even when he hadn't noticed it. Though the guilt of the pain he hadn't realized he'd caused them still drifted at the back of his mind at times, it was immensely outnumbered. By happiness. By gratefulness. By joy.  
Lafayette stepped over the threshold of the building and could hardly believe his eyes. The stairway was draped in flags, paper triangles in blue and red and white. Even here they'd decorated. For him. Lafayette did not and never would have a name for the explosion of emotions that spread throughout him. He didn't have to though, because they were evident on his face. They had done this for him. His friends. Lafayette locked eyes with the boy who stood next to him, grinning, and tilted his face upwards. Hercules smirked even wider and then his lips were pressed to Laf's.  
Lafayette was certain. He wasn't spending another year away from home.  
He had just found it.

Hercules and Lafayette walked a little behind the two other boys as they made their way to the girls' dorm. The evening was calm, and for the first time in months, Hercules was too. His hand clutched Lafayette's tightly. The heat of his boyfriend's body warmed his own hand, spreading through his arm into his very core where it lay like a blanket around his heart. Lafayette was staying. He would stay right here, by his side. The past weeks had been … tough. Hercules swallowed, trying to push the thoughts away. The uncertainty, the worry. He'd known something was up. He just hadn't realized what. The stress, the pain and frustration in Laf's eyes. The long, lonely nights he'd been studying and the feverish, desperate kisses. He should have know.  
He didn't blame Lafayette for it, for not telling him. He knew it had been hard for him. Not just hard, terrible. They'd had a long conversation about it. The despair and the panic he'd felt, the desperation at going back to a life that contained none of what he now valued as truly important. Hercules had held Lafayette as he'd cried and explained and apologize. Lafayette had held Hercules as he did the same. The memory of their bodies pressed together still ghosted over his arms. He should had been by Laf's side as he went through all of this. But the past was in the past, and no matter what it contained the future lay before them. The thought was nothing short of thrilling.  
The two boys stepped over the threshold of the dorm and Lafayettes eyes widened at the decorations. The red and the white and the blue. The colors of his flags, both of them. Hercules grinned as his boyfriend's face fell. Lafayette turned towards him and Hercules was sure he'd never seen anything so beautiful in his life. His eyes were full of so many emotions that there was no telling where one ended and the other began. So Hercules did the only thing he could think of. He took Lafayette's face in his hands and pressed his lips to Laf's.  
Nothing would pull them apart ever again.

Alexander and John walked a little in front of the two other boys and chatted eagerly. Their faces mirrored each other, both full of excitement. Lafayette had no idea how much time they'd spent planning this party and Alexander figured that was probably good. It would be so worth it though. Even as they stepped into the dorm house Alexander felt a rush of pride at the decorations the girls had put up. John whispered the sentence just as the thought crossed Alexander's mind.  
"This is going to be awesome!"

"Come in!" Eliza said when she opened the door with a smile. The four smiled back and stepped inside. It was breathtaking. If they'd thought the entrance had been decorated well it was nothing compared to the apartment. Alexander could probably have spent the better part of an hour describing it, but opted for a mental summarization instead. There was a lot of French stuff, and there was a lot of American stuff. Everything was clad in the colours and stars, creating a whirlwind of patriotism and no way of telling what was supposed to represent which country.  
It was perfect.

"Hello," Angelica said from where she stood bent over a small table. She was doing something with a bowl of liquid, but straightened up and turned towards them. "Welcome to our humble party," she grinned.  
"Humble and humble," Hercules scoffed. "You truly outdid yourselves."  
The two girls beamed.  
Lafayette's voice was quiet as he spoke.  
"You did all of this … for me?"  
"Of course." Angelica shrugged as if it was the most natural thing in the world.  
And to everyone in the room, it was.

The sound of the door bell had the whole party turn to the door. Angelica inclined her head to Eliza.  
"Would you do the honours?"  
She smirked at her sister.  
"Leaving the dirty work to me, huh?"  
"Perhaps I am."  
Eliza strode towards the door. As she pressed down the handle Angelica quitely muttered: "Let the circus begin."  
Because outside the door were some people they knew very well.  
"Why are _you_ here?" Alexander moaned. He grimaced, but his voice had no real bite to it. While no part of him liked seeing the smug face of Jefferson, and he wasn't too fond of the guy's friends, he had to admit it seemed appropriate that they were here. Even though he didn't want to acknowledge it, they had been a pivotal part of their lives. God damnit.  
"We're here because we were invited," Jefferson said and swaggered into the room.  
"And because we were told there'd be cake," Madison added with a small smile.  
"Here I was," Lafayette grinned, "thinking you wanted to say congratulations or something."  
Jefferson raised an eyebrow. "Remind me again why I'd be happy to have to see you for another year?"  
Lafayette chuckled. "Because you love me, and I'm the greatest person ever?"  
Jefferson snorted and, to Alexander's great surprise, pulled Lafayette into a massive hug.  
"I'm happy you're staying, man," he murmured.  
"Yeah," Lafayette answered and patted him on the back. "Me too."

"Okay," John said once the two let go. "I'm really happy for your budding friendship; even though I question you choice of acquaintances, Laf."  
Jefferson rolled his eyes at him.  
"However," John continued. "I have a much more burning question." He raised his eyes suggestively at the boy currently hiding away in the shadows.  
"I see you've got a special someone at your side, Burr?"  
The whole company simultaneously turned towards the poor guy. He cleared his throat.  
"Well," he said and stepped into the light. Following him was the girl whose hand he was currently holding. She smiled pleasantly at them, which cause the corner of her eyes to crinkle up. Her hair was pulled up in two curly ponytails that cascaded down her shoulders and framed her tanned cheeks sprinkled with freckles. The brown of her eyes was as rich as melted chocolate.  
Chocolate.  
"I know you," Alexander gasped.  
She laughed.  
"I suppose you do. Christmas fair, right?"  
Alexander nodded.  
"Eh, right," Burr stammered, looking between the two before continuing. "For those of you who don't know, which I suppose is like two people at this point, this is Theodosia." He took a deep breath.  
"My girlfriend."  
Lafayette whistled.  
"This is the girl Angelica asked you about at Halloween?"  
Angelica nodded, a cocky smile on her lips. "It would seem that someone finally has admitted to his feelings."  
Burr looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Theodosia's eyes sparkled with contained laughter.  
"Aw come on," Alexander grinned. "No need to act so shy, Burr."  
The boy rolled his eyes, but turned to give his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.  
"So," he said and raised an eyebrow at Alexander. "Happy?"  
Alexander brought his hands together in a slow applause. Burr pinched the bridge of his nose.

Angelica took control of the situation not long after that. She whisked the guests over to the dessert display, which was essentially a coffee table covered by a white cloth. It did the job.  
"Okay so here's all the stuff." She waved a hand at it, her body language clearly conveying she considered it nothing but a small assembly of snacks. In reality there were two bowls of punch - one red and one blue, and a wide array of popcorn, cookies, chocolate dipped fruits and treats Alexander didn't even know the name of.  
"I see you've decided to match the drinks to yourselves," Madison remarked with a nod to the girls. Eliza winked at him.  
Indeed, Alexander suddenly realized. Angelica had ditched her normal pink attire in favour of a blood red dress, and Eliza had opted for dark blue instead of her usual pastel shade. They had definitely gone all out.  
"Say," Jefferson inquired, "what had you done if the French flag just so happened to be purple, yellow, and green?"  
Angelica laughed. "Let's be happy it's not. But on that topic–" She poured herself a glass of the deep blue liquor and gestured for the others to do the same. They obliged.  
"A toast to Lafayette," she declared and raised her glass. Her eyes held Laf's gaze as she spoke. "To the approval of his visa and the coming year he'll be staying with us. To a year of friendship and laughter, and to memories yet to be made. To a year we'll all get to spend together." She smiled brilliantly. "To Lafayette!"  
"To Lafayette!"  
Lafayette was glowing, his eyes shining unnaturally bright. He looked around at them, standing there with raised glasses and smiles on their faces. All of them. He raised his own glass.  
"To all of you," he said. "For making this the best year of my life, and to the year yet to come. For doing … all of this. Thank you!"  
Ten glasses lifted in unison, and the ten of them drank.  
To a toast they'd never forget.

"Shall we have a seat then?" Eliza suggested.  
Noises of agreement rose from everyone.  
"Is there a particular reason we need to be seated?" John asked.  
Angelica just smiled. Her eyes gleamed. "You'll see."  
The two girls disappeared into the kitchen while the others sat down at the dinner table. It was a miracle they all fit, but somehow they made it work. Jefferson and Madison claimed one side of the table, along with Burr and Theodosia. John, Alex, and Herc made for the other side along with Laf.  
"No way." Hercules grinned at his boyfriend when he tried to sit down on the left-most chair. "You're sitting at the side." Herc gestured to the short end of the table. The place of honor.  
"Come on, you guys are blowing this out of proportion," Lafayette laughed.  
"We're not!"  
After shaking his head Lafayette accepted the place. This was, after all, a night dedicated to him.

The party engaged in conversation that actually remained decently polite, probably thanks to Burr and Theodosia de-escalating any potential arguments before they began. Still, it seemed like a truce had been called for the night, and not even Alexander and Jefferson were at each other's throat. Well, at least not as much as they usually were.  
"For tonight, Hamilton, I will tolerate your insufferable presence," Jefferson smirked.  
"And for the sake of our company I will return the favour. Though I must say that _my_ presence is infinitely better than–"  
He was interrupted by the Schuyler sisters making their reappearance.  
Between them they carried a large silver platter. On it stood a cake, if the word even made it justice. It filled the entire platter and was at least – _at least_ – a foot tall. It was covered in thick stripes of frosting, a perfect replica of the French flag. It was magnificent.  
Without a word they put it down on the table.  
Lafayette's jaw dropped.  
"You're kidding!"  
"We're not," Eliza grinned. She disappeared back into the kitchen and returned with a cake slicer which she handed to him. "Will you do the honours?"  
Lafayette was speechless as he grabbed the knife.  
"Go on," Angelica urged him as she and Eliza took their seats, Eliza next to Theodosia and Angelica opposite Laf.  
He took the knife, slicing into the side of the cake. As he lifted the piece he gasped.  
"What?" Madison said.  
Lafayette blinked. With a lopsided grin Angelica grabbed hold of the platter and spun it around for all to see.  
The cake's exterior may have been decorated with French patriotism, but the inside was no less amazing. Created of shapes and layers of cake was an unmistakable pattern: a blue square, and red and white stripes.  
It was the American flag.  
The table erupted in cheers.

Eventually all of them got a piece of the cake, along with some wine Angelica realized she had in the cupboard.  
"It's a white _Vin Doux Naturel_ ," she declared.  
"Right," Alexander nodded. "Look, I speak French but that makes about as much sense to me as Elvish does."  
She grinned. "Yeah me too. It sounds fancy though."  
Eliza snorted. "Keep up this charade and people will actually start thinking you've got your life together, sis."  
"Shut up!"

"Now, I'm curious," Hercules said. He waved his fork at Burr and Theodosia, who were currently trying to subtly hold hands under the table. "How did you two meet?"  
Burr put his own fork down. He glanced at Theodisa.  
"Go on," she said softly. "You can tell them."  
"Okay." He took a deep breath.  
"I was walking down a corridor from class, I don't really remember which one it was. Then suddenly I hear this loud sound followed by a yelp. So I go to investigate it and this guy just storms past me. Like an actual I'm-going-on-a-murder-spree _prowl_. Then I turn a corner and I see a girl kneeling on the floor.  
"I'm incredibly confused right, but I realize she is crying. So I ask her if she is okay. She looks up at me with eyes full of tears and–" He gulped, the words caught in his throat. The table had fallen silent.  
"She had this mark on her face, this giant red bruise. And I realized what that sound had been." Burr's voice was low.  
Theodosia nodded. "That guy, his name was Marcus. He was my then-boyfriend. We– we had an argument. He got angry with me, angrier than usual. And he slapped me."  
"It was..." Burr couldn't even finish the sentence.  
"Horrible," Theodosia said instead. "I honestly never thought he'd– I mean, I never thought he'd actually hit me."  
Burr's eyes had always been dark, but the blackness that swirled in them now was different. Denser.  
Theodosia shrugged. "We don't have to go into the details, but Aaron helped me through that time. He pushed me to break up with the jerk, even though I was scared to do so. I couldn't have asked for a better friend." She smiled a small smile at him, and he smiled back. There was so much love conveyed in that moment that Alexander had to look away.  
"Eventually I realized I'd fallen in love with him. We had an, eh, awkward date that wasn't really date and then I sorta just blurted it out. I was lucky he felt the same." She laughed. "So yeah, that's about it. It's a bit tragic but it had a better ending than I could had ever hoped for."  
"You deserve all the happy endings in the world," Burr murmured.  
"As do you."

"Now enough about us," Theodosia concluded. "Anyone else have any good stories?" She regarded them all over the rim of her glass as she took a sip. "I feel like I haven't been told half of the stuff you've been up to."  
"Well," Alexander drawled. He shared a look with the three of his friends. "I think we have a few."

So they sat like that and they shared their stories. Alexander told them about how he'd first arrived at the college; cold, tired and lonely. How he'd walked into an unknown apartment building and been confronted with a shirtless guy in an American cape, his laughing friend and the cutest boy he'd ever seen. John told them about the immediate friendship, about the arguments about American cereal and their abuse of the hot chocolate machine. Jefferson made a snarky remark about terrible karaoke singing and Lafayette shot back with a story about mac 'n' cheese and raisin cookies. Hercules told them all about the insane task of making clothes for stuffed animals, and John laughed as he explained how Alex had somehow managed to forget that he spoke French. This caused Hercules to go off on a tangent about how _some_ people should be considered towards those who don't understand the great language of baguettes and eiffel towers. Lafayette only smirked at him, asking if he really had that much against French? Hercules looked away and subconsciously touched his hand to the neckline of his shirt.

Angelica added to the conversation by explaining all about the _Romeo and Juliet_ drama, which had Theodosia, and in fact everyone but two at the table, howling with laughter. Burr told her about a little mishap with a certain puppy and Lafayette promised her he'd let her meet Nenne sometime.  
"As long as it doesn't entail me having to clean any more disgusting bathrooms," John muttered.  
And Jefferson and Madison told them how they'd started dating, and they shared the stories of writing notes to their neighbours and screaming through walls. Theodosia added her own saga about how she'd met Alexander at the fair and helped him picked out chocolates - chocolates that eventually ended up being Laf's. They talked, and they laughed, and the sun set outside as the night arrived; but inside the lights burned golden and basked them in warmth.

John was in the middle of telling everyone about the time they'd messed up an entire science project with tape when Hercules tried to reach over the table to grab some cake. He succeeded, but the distance caused him to slice it at the strangest angle Alexander had ever seen _anyone_ cut a cake.  
"Wow," Lafayette laughed. "That may be the wonkiest line I've ever seen."  
"What can I say," Hercules said with a wink. "Being straight is not one of my virtues."  
Angelica had to cover her mouth to not spew liquid all over the table.  
Hercules bowed to the best of his ability and straightened up. As he did so a golden chain feel out from around his neck.  
"That's pretty," Eliza noted.  
Hercules had tensed up. He slowly slid his plate into place and looked down. Around his neck hung a golden necklace with a small rectangle on it, fully visible for everyone to see.  
Angelica cocked her head to her side. "Is that writing on it?"  
Hercules' hands fluttered across the table. "Um, yeah."  
She waited, but Hercules remained silent. Then Lafayette began to laugh softly.  
"Since we're all spewing out tales of this and that we might as well explain this too."  
Alexander finally added two and two together and sat bolt upright.  
"Now this," he said, "is a story I want to hear!"

Hercules passed the ball to Lafayette, stating that this was his mess to sort out. After making sure the other guy was okay with the story being told Lafayette cracked his knuckles. And began.  
"Okay so it's Christmas and the four of us decided we'd get each other gifts. So I was trying to get something for Herc but I couldn't find anything I was satisfied with. Eventually I just caved and bought him a backpack. Then as I was walking home I passed a jewelry shop thing and they had this "engrave something" holiday deal. It felt a bit like I was hit by a lightning bolt." He chuckled. "I walk inside and look at the things, trying to decide if and what I should get. Then I see this gold chain with a little platter on."  
Hercules fingered his necklace. "I told the bastard to not get me anything too expensive," he muttered. "But oh no."  
Laf grinned. "Sorry not sorry."  
"Anyways I was just going to get our names, but it looked empty so I added a phrase." He paused for dramatic effect, and Alexander had to fight down the urge to shake him. It had been almost four months since he'd first wanted to find out what this mysterious gift was.  
"So I got the phrase " _Mon amour pour toi est éternel_ "." Lafayette blushed and looked away.  
"Am I right to think that there is another story behind that phrase?" Theodosia asked.  
"Yeah," Hercules mumbled.  
There was a pause.  
"You … want to hear it?"  
There was a unanimous chorus of "Yeah, duh."  
"Right. Okay." Hercules took a deep breath. Then he spoke very, very fast.  
"I was sleeping, or at least Laf thought I was. So he kinda whispers that and I obviously had no clue what it meant but I didn't want to ask and reveal that I was awake so I just didn't say anything. The next day I go to look it up and it meant–"  
"– my love for you is eternal," Lafayette explained. "Yeah I know it's cheesy shut up."  
Hercules grinned. "So I just kinda went "I'll love you forever too" the next time I saw him and let me tell you that was the most epic reaction I've ever seen anyone have in my life."  
"Scared the shit out if me is what you did," Lafayette muttered. He was avoiding meeting their eyes. "But yeah that's the story."  
"Aw, that's so sweet," Eliza sighed.  
Lafayette chuckled and smiled at his boyfriend.  
"I guess it is."

The night progressed and, just like before, they continued talking. In the dim hour of the night people dared to utter their innermost hopes and dreams, and they talked about their futures. What they wanted to do, who they wanted to be. Their plans for the next year and the classes they'd take. At one point Lafayette pulled his phone out.  
"Hey guys, I just remembered. I told my sister about this party and she wanted to know how it was. Is it okay if I take a picture for her?"  
No one objected and so they all crammed into the frame. There were Madison and Jefferson, arms slung around each others shoulders. There were Burr and Theodosia, sitting cheek to cheek and grinning. Angelica had her arm around her sister and the two were crammed against John and Alexander who tried their best to squeeze into frame. Hercules leaned as far left as he could to allow Lafayette to be visible just at the edge. There was a mess of cake on the table and they were flushed and beaming. It was beautiful.  
"Thank you." Laf grinned and pressed send. "I'd call her but she told me that if I woke her up she'd kill me." He flashed them the screen so they could see the convo, where one person had indeed made it quite clear that time zones were to be respected.  
And that one person had a name Alexander recognized.  
 _Ma chérie magnifique  
_ The last piece of the puzzle fell into place in Alexander's brain. His sister.  
It had been his sister all along.

"I'm gonna go and get some air," Alexander stated and rose from his chair.  
"I'm coming with you," John said.  
"There's a window over there," Angelica said and pointed at it. "You can open it, it is a bit stuffy in here."  
The two boys did as they were told, leaning out over the frame to feel the cold air on their faces.  
"It's kind of strange to hear everyone talk about what happened this year," John murmured as the sound of their friends talking and laughing drifted in from behind them. "Everyone has experienced it so differently."  
"Yeah," Alexander agreed and rested his head on John's shoulder. John let his own fall down on top of Alexnader's. "I like the way I've experienced it though."  
"Me too," John chuckled. "It's been good."  
"It has." Alexander took John's hand. "Remember when we started? When we stood outside of college and realized we would spend the next four years of our lives here?"  
"I do. It was a lot different then."  
"It was. But I think it's lead somewhere good. I'm … happy."  
"Same." John's thumb made small circles over the back of Alexander's hand. Behind them Jefferson groaned loudly at something Angelica said. Alexander could feel the vibrations of John laughing against his cheek.  
"It's a bit weird," he said. "How much of a story depends on who's telling it."  
"It is." John glanced behind them. "I wonder who will tell ours."  
Alexander tore his gaze away from the stars, looking instead at their friends. There were smiles on their faces, and the atmosphere seemed to shimmer around them. His eyes strayed over to John's face. To the freckles, the soft curls and the deep colour of his eyes.  
"In all honestly, I have no idea who will tell my story," Alexander admitted. "I don't think I can change that either. I don't know if they will think it's a good or bad one." He smiled, and John smiled back. In that moment, everything was fine. More than fine. Everything was exactly as it should be.  
"I can't decide who will tell my story, but from now on I will make sure that I'm the one who writes it."

* * *

Hi! As promised, here is the big announcement for those of you who don't want to read through a lot of sappy text: This is the final chapter and officially the end of this fic.  
I can't even begin to express how grateful I am that you've read all the way to here, but thank you. It's very appreciated. I hope the ending was satisfactory, but if you have any questions feel free to ask me! I'll do my best to answer. Again, thank you, and take care!

Now, because I can't stop myself I will write a longer goodbye here. I never thought I would ever write this whole thing. It all started with me having a flash idea of how these idiots could meet. I only wrote it down because I thought it was kind of entertaining. Then I figured I might as well publish it, but I never expected anyone to read it, much less leave a review on it. But then suddenly there _were_ people reading it (to my great surprise), so I continued writing. I figured I would end it once the easter break I was on stopped, and so I did. That was the sudden end of _New Roommates at 2 AM_. Except I wanted to continue, so I figured I'd write a couple of one shots. Nothing big or long, just a few whenever I had the time.

Yeah, that blew out of proportion.

So here I am, almost a year later and finally ending it for real. It feels kind of weird in all honesty. I look at back on what I wrote a year ago and feel like I have grown a lot as a writer, at least I hope I have. It's been fun, incredibly fun, and incredibly valuable to me. So I'd like to say thank you for that, because if you hadn't read this I wouldn't have continued to write it. Like I said, I can't even begin to describe how grateful I am. So much of this story has been influenced by the messages I've gotten (on that note, thanks to AppleBagelUnicorn for suggesting the split pov, I hope it turned out to your liking :)). I honestly wish I could type out all the names here, but I'm afraid it would just turn into a gigantic list. So I'll just say that if you've supported me in any way, by messaging me or reading this, then you're the reason this thing exist.

With that being said, of course I can't write an end note without mentioning Pencilsketchanime; thank you for proofreading every time I ask you, pointing out when my French is lacking (let's face it, that's all the time), and for your friendship. It means the world to me. And obviously I have to mention all the people in my life whose habits, sayings and actions have wound up in this story. Cheers for doing weird things guys, it makes writing a lot easier.

It's been a rollercoaster of an experience for me, to actually commit to a piece writing. And I'm really happy with the result. I've learned so much, talked to new people (looking at you, GingerSprinkles and Ranger-Corpses), and hopefully put a smile on at least a few people's faces. I'll miss this. Still, an end is only the beginning of something new and I hope that I'll be able to write many other things in the near future. There are so many fandoms to be a part of, so many new worlds to explore. I hope you feel like this story got the closure it needed at least, if there's anything you wonder about feel free to ask me. Even if you've found this thing three years from now. If I see the message, I will answer you.

I hope each and every one of you have a great time and that you all get to write your own stories, either with pen and paper or by living them in real life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for this time. It has been awesome. Take care!


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